Engineering Management Blog
Articles, guides, and white papers for engineering leaders and managers
The Engineering & Leadership Project regularly publishes blog posts, articles, and papers to help engineers become excellent engineering leaders.
We cover topics such as engineering project management, people management systems engineering, productivity, and more.
Scroll below to read our most recent work.
What’s Your 20-Mile March?
Jim Collins has a way of getting me thinking. Collins is a business researcher and bestselling author based in Boulder, Colorado. I've read of a lot of his books lately, and you may have noticed his ideas pop up quite a bit already in this blog. If you've never read...
4 Ways You Can Lead from Your Cubicle
So, you don't have the corner office yet. That's OK. There are a ton of things you can start doing today to be a leader within your team and organization - even if you spend 9-5 in a cube farm like me. Here are 4 ideas you can implement immediately to show your...
A 6-Part Definition of Leadership
In this post, I'm going to try and give you a concrete answer to the question: what is leadership? Leadership is the personal habit of taking selfless action to support the goals and needs of the people around you. Whoa. Heavy stuff, I know. Let's break this down into...
3 Reasons Why New Graduate Programs are Great
For anyone who's recently graduated from school, you're likely either in the middle of a job search, or you recently finished one. In either case, you'll have no doubt executed a facepalm at some point, screaming "Why does every junior engineering gig this side of the...
Leadership Development Strategy #37: Intravenous Media Drip
So this wasn't the post I was planning on writing today. In fact, I had another one 3/4 finished, but on the way home from work I was listening to a Harvard Business Review IdeaCast, as I sometimes do, and I had a bit of a "light-bulb" moment. Through Divine...
Level 5 Leadership – The Pinnacle of Leadership
One problem that many engineers likely have with the idea of leadership is that it can seem ambiguous. What is leadership anyway? How can you tell someone is a leader? Engineers like me tend to do best with the quantifiable. We like facts, figures, and equations....
4 Reasons Why I’m Applying to Become a Professional Engineer
I'm currently in the process of putting together my paperwork to become a Professional Engineer. There's a lot of debate as to whether or not the paperwork and hassle are worth it. To me, there's no debate. Becoming a P.Eng. (or P.E. in the US) has been a major...
The Number One Mistake Everyone Makes About Leadership
The number one mistake everyone makes about leadership is this: Leadership is for managers, not engineers. False! Leadership is not just for management. Nothing could be further from the truth It drives me nuts when I hear that. Let me explain why. Leadership is not...
Wanted: You!
I've got a very targeted audience in mind for this blog. I'm writing for young engineers who have graduated within the last five years, or who are still in school. I'm writing for passionate, intelligent, driven people. This blog is written for those who want to get...
Meet the Author
Hi everyone, My name is Pat Sweet. Before I get too far into this Engineering and Leadership project, I thought you might appreciate knowing more about the man behind the blog. I'm an electrical engineer living and working in Ontario, Canada. I studied electrical...
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