Chemical Engineering July 2020 - 45

mindsets.
Figure 3. Learning to communicate effectively is a critical skill regardless
of your personality type, and regardless of what your strengths and
weak areas are
nesses equally, and often the discussions
were more targeted on the
weak areas. Many human resource
professionals today believe that focusing
on strengths is the higher priority,
and I agree. Of course, weak
areas that are career disruptors are
crucial to identify and understand
(and address). But if you are a 7 out
of 10 in some strength areas that you
can develop into an 8 or 9, these will
help you stand out. But if you are a 3
out of 10 in a weak area, it might be
difficult to raise it to anything above
a 6. In your own development planning,
you must determine if this weak
area is worth the additional focused
effort or not. If it is a significant gap
area or even a career disruptor, then
it should warrant some attention.
Support teams
To avoid the fate of this engineer and
cultivate your foundational skills, I
recommend that you develop your
own " inner circle " of support for your
growth. Your targeted development
plan with your company, if you have
one, is only part of this process.
This includes finding a mentor or accountability
partner to work with. It's
best that it not be your direct boss
or anyone else on your direct work
team, though they should have an
active part of your personal growth
plan. She or he should be chosen
carefully and have the desire and
time to invest in you for a routine oneon-one
lunch or short meeting every
few weeks or so. An effective mentor
or coach will ask probing questions
and help you to process areas that
you are actively working on to improve
your capabilities and skills and
44
It is desirable
to have several
people in your
o r gan i z a ti on ,
besides your direct
supervisor,
to discuss personal
development
with. Be
selective, since
unfortunately not
everyone has the
desire or mindset
to support you in
this process. Try
to pick only one
or two key areas
at a time to work
on and remember the " SMART " process
of having your growth goals
specific, measurable, achievable,
relevant and time-bound (Figure 2).
Working on foundational skills is
something each engineer can and
should be doing in a deliberate way,
no matter our age and position in the
workplace. But as one performance
coach, Brendon Buchard, says,
" the world cares less about your
strengths and personality than about
your service and meaningful contributions
to others. " Results matter,
but the way you get those results
also matters. Are you a good listener?
Do you allow others to make
their points before injecting yours?
Have you done your homework to
be sure your proposals and recommendations
are well thought out,
and have you considered alternative
approaches? Have you considered
things from the other person's point
of view?
Communication skills
Learning to communicate effectively
is a critical skill regardless of your
personality type, and regardless of
what your strengths and weak areas
are (Figure 3). In his excellent book,
" Everyone Communicates Few Connect, "
leadership expert John Maxwell
says, " It's not enough just to
work hard. It's not enough to do a
great job. To be successful, you need
to learn how to really communicate
with others. " A Harvard Business Review
article agrees - " The number
one criterion for advancement and
promotion for professionals is an ability
to communicate effectively. "
Do you look for opportunities to
improve your communication skills?
This includes writing skills, as well
as your speaking skills one-on-one,
in small groups and in front of larger
groups. I remember one engineer
who was uncomfortable speaking in
front of groups, and he decided that
he wanted to work on this in a deliberate
way. He joined a Toastmasters
group to practice speaking in a comfortable
setting where others were
looking to do the same thing. He did
improve and became a very effective
presenter and communicator.
Robert
Dilenschneider,
a CEO,
wrote about a " power triangle " that
each of us creates around us that
helps us be effective in our work and
with others. He said, " The three components
of this triangle are communication,
recognition and influence.
You start to communicate effectively.
This leads to recognition and recognition
in turn leads to influence. " As
engineers, chemists, teachers and
business leaders, we all can take the
time and put in the effort to improve
incrementally so that the cumulative
effect is noticeable and beneficial to
our careers.
You own the process
Each part of our career journey offers
opportunity for delivering results
and developmental growth. Personal
growth can be an exciting, lifelong
journey in which you can take a
deliberate approach to pursue and
achieve. If you do, I am confident it
can accelerate your career and personal
satisfaction - both at work
and in your life away from work. ■
Edited by Dorothy Lozowski
References
1. Rentschler, Carl, Career Guidelines for Young Engineers,
Chemical Engineering, January 2018, pp. 56-59.
Author
Garrett Forsythe
(Email:
forsytheopex@gmail.com; Phone:
610-304-0630) is an engineering
consultant and executive coach
specializing in operational excellence
and leadership development.
With DuPont, he had operation
leadership experience,
business and sales roles, and
helped design and execute major
enterprise-wide continuous improvement programs. He
now operates JGF Performance Consulting, LLC and
focuses on coaching early and mid-career individuals.
He has over 40 years of varied operational, supply
chain, business, and consulting experience, primarily in
the chemical and mining industries. He holds a
B.S.Ch.E. from the University of Delaware.
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