Effective leadership and management, is luckily a skill that can be learnt, so don’t panic if you aren’t a natural born leader! Different management styles will suit different industries, different organisations, different teams and different individuals, however there are some universals which will help you become a successful Engineering Executive. Follow these 6 tips below to get yourself on track:

Communication is Important

Communication that is clear, and understanding is an important part of building a successful relationship between you as a leader and your team. Ensure you voice your ideas, instructions and opinions clearly and so your employees understand what you’re asking of them. Allow time for your employees to express their thoughts and concerns and ask questions. It is better to have an open, two way conversation with your employee’s rather than a one way conversation which often discourages trust and weakens the relationship between you and your employee/team. 

Be Fair and Understanding

A high performer, that is committed, dedicated, delivers excellent work but, oh no, misses a deadline or cannot commit to an emergency call-out due to a family commitment. As a leader, use your fairness and compassion to understand what went wrong or gather why he can’t make the call-out. Instead of jumping to conclusions, recognise this is out of character from the individual, and is likely to be due to a genuine cause or problem. Be hard on the results and soft on the person. 

Show Your Passion

As a leader, if you show your passion and enthusiasm for the industry and your work, this is likely to impact how your team perform. Your employees are likely to follow in your foot steps by taking a positive, and enthusiastic outlook in their daily tasks at work. 

Establish the Difference Between Will and Skill

Before you jump to conclusions about an employees underperformance at work. Identify whether it is due to a lack of skill or a lack of will. A lack of skill, is manageable and easier to address through coaching, training and support. Whereas, lack of will is more harder to address and resolve. Establish where this lack of motivation is stemming from, or why your employee isn’t being as committed and dedicated to the role as necessary, and ensure they understand the bigger picture. 

Be an Active Leader

As an Engineering Executive, if your employees present a problem to you, its your responsibility to actively solve the problem or provide support and guidance to do so. Make sure you fully understand and are aware of the problem at hand, and update your team on the progress of resolving the issue. 

Recognise Achievements 

Just like most leaders, you want your team to be motivated and performing at their best at all times. By taking time to recognise your team/employees achievements and praising them for completing a job successfully or meeting the jobs deadline and so forth, you will help your team/employees stay motivated, focused and on course. A process of de-motivation often occurs in organisations where there is a lack of support, recognition and praise from management, this is something you want to avoid at all costs.