*Follow the Series on Soft Skills and Leadership in Technical Fields
A lead engineer asks:
Over the past few years, I’ve worked my way up to the position of lead developer. My technical knowhow is solid and widely recognized by the people within the organization. Now they expect me to take on more of a leadership role. What should I focus on?
The communication trainer answers:
Performance, People, and Politics are key. Start your development by mastering the first of these three P’s: Performance. You have to learn how to do your work well. This will give you the self-confidence and credibility to make your way into the organization. The other two P’s will come into sharper focus next: You should be able to work with people outside of your own projects, know how to engage stakeholders, and convince others with your ideas.
This step starts by acknowledging that you are not operating on your own. You are part of a team of people working together to achieve results. In other words, you need to learn how to take in a 360-degree view. Look at who’s “above” you: the various line managers, project managers, business managers, and other stakeholders who influence the project or have a stake in it. Look at colleagues at your own level who have similar roles in adjacent technical fields (e.g. other lead engineers). Also look at coworkers in positions “below” yours: the people you manage with regard to technical matters, delegate work and responsibilities to, and help by sharing knowledge and experience.
This title is part of a larger series of articles on Key Soft Skills for Engineers and Technical Professionals. Follow the link to get a copy of this unique collection.
In order to engage and convince people, it’s important to know what motivates them. What is important to them? This requires that you learn to see things from their perspective. Once you know what’s important to the other person, find out how your ideas can help them. How will the technical solution you have in mind solve their problem?
The project manager who is “above” you would probably like to make the deadline. This is a short-term interest. His long-term interest could be for the project to be done well to avoid needless errors from arising after project completion. This would be costly and stressful for the organization and damage his credibility.
As for colleagues at your level in an adjacent field, you will need to try learning about the technical foundations of their area of expertise. If your colleague is an optical specialist, for example, it means you will have to take a crash course in optics. Once you see how your work impacts the work of others, it becomes clear what you need to discuss. Only then can you have a critical dialog and help each other.
Performance, People, and Politics are Key
For your own development, you will need to delegate work and responsibilities to coworkers in positions “below” yours. It takes time and mental bandwidth to grow your sphere of influence within the organization—it’s not something you can just do on the side. If you are overwhelmed by the details of your work, you may not even notice the stakeholder standing next to you at the coffee machine, let alone know what message to convey or what to ask.
Try to delegate work in such a way that the other person can learn something. Focus on sharing knowledge and allocate time for providing guidance. The overall effect will be that employees will enjoy working for you. That way, both you and the people around you will grow.