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Mentorship
Within your team of engineers, work on establishing a mentorship environment if none already exists. Be sure the mentor and mentored are paired together based on teaching and learning styles. A mentorship program will provide an interactive management style. This will provide a close relationship and a collaborative environment. Both the mentor and mentored will provide guidance and leadership that will allow both parties to focus on each other’s professional goals and provide an in-depth path of education and growth. This partnership will eventually lead to a process where the knowledge from both the experienced and new engineer will combine, allowing each party to learn and grow from each other. The new engineer will then go from being mentored and soaking up knowledge, to contributing their knowledge, and on their way to becoming a leader.
Expert tip: As a young engineer, you are filled with untapped potential but need experience that the veteran engineer has plenty of. Being an engineer is a give and take business. Earn your mentor’s trust and learn from them. After the relationship has solidified, offer them what knowledge you have that they might be missing.
Be Collaborative: “Something great can happen if the young and old outliers can collaborate and work together effectively.” Respecting both sides of the experienced and the young engineer, understanding that each have a unique set of skills and knowledge to contribute. Both parties need to be working towards a goal of collaborating their skills and knowledge.
Leadership
As an experienced engineer, being a leader is not something that you acquired one day when you woke up correct? Instead it is learned through years of experience because it takes one to lead one. The opportunity to impact a young professional is very important. Impacting your leadership skills on another person is simple; all you have to do is be a good example, have a passion for what you are teaching and do what you believe in. Great leaders don’t try too hard, but instead, follow what they truly have a passion for.
If you’re a young engineer, pay attention because a good leader is self-less. Good leaders tend to have attributes like these:
- They take responsibility for not only their actions but their teams actions as well, no matter what.
- They stay level headed
- They are aware of their team member’s strengths. They set an individual up for success and leverage their team’s specific talents and goals in parallel with the company goals.
- They help and support GROWTH.
- They are loyal, supportive, and consistently provide positive and constructive feedback.
- They put team members ahead of themselves
- They are confidant in their team’s process, growth, and individual career goals. Confidence is key.
Leadership is a cycle. Great leaders are made from the leaders before them and simply practice what they preach, do what they do well and are confident. A great leader always believes in themselves, and in their team.
Opportunities
Opportunities are endless, especially as an engineer within an industry that is always changing and innovating. As an experienced engineer, mentoring a young engineer is a special opportunity to make a big impact by leading, guiding, and collaborating with a young engineer to help them reach their full potential. A young engineer especially needs to be looking for the right opportunities to learn and gain experience.
Expert tip: If you are a mechanical engineer, you need real experience machining, welding and more. Without the supporting aspects, you won't be good at what you do. You must lace up your boots, put your hard hat on and learn by working in the field. Getting your hands dirty will allow you to learn more aggressively.
Expert tip: Understand that you are not expected to know everything, but you must be ready to dive into problems and become an expert on that particular engineering topic.
"Dedicate yourself to one vocation, then become an instrument of its evolution.” ~CTD Team Member~
Cooling Tower Depot understands these special opportunities for a young engineer to learn. Our presentations to a customer are not only informative about our services, but take the time to educate our customer about all the elements that must be considered when planning for the construction of a new cooling tower. Because we take time to educate, any young engineer in the group will actually receive Professional Development Credit Hours at the end of our presentation.
“I love doing a lunch and learn presentation where my clients are young and eager, but have little knowledge of a cooling tower. Having the chance to introduce and properly educate them about the technicality of the design and construction of a new cooling tower is one of the highlights of my job." ~ Brandon Rees, Regional Sales Director of New Tower Construction.
Innovation & Creativity
As a young engineer learning how to be interactive, collaborative, and to follow experienced leadership, be sure to jump at every opportunity. Don’t forget to flex your brain and think outside of the box. You are a young engineer soaking up knowledge, but be sure to stay true to your innovative self and question everything. Being an engineer is about creativity and innovation. You get the chance to solve problems every day, be sure that you are ALWAYS asking the right questions and never accept an answer that simply states “well that’s just how it is done!” Remember you have the opportunity to create a new way, a better way of doing something. Remember what Dr. Seuss said, “Oh the things you can think up, only if you try!”
In conclusion
Preparing for the generation gap is important. The combination of utilizing Mentorship/leadership, opportunities and innovation will help close the generation gap, but still leave enough of a gap open for new problem solvers and new ways of thinking. This will allow engineers to continue to evolve. As Dr. Seuss said “Your off to great places, today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.”
**Expert advice provided in this document, which was not already provided from current CTD team members, was received by outside reputable Engineering peers from a CTD LinkedIn Group discussion. Continue the discussion and receive more tips and advice here: LinkedIn ASME Group Discussion.
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