Chemical Engineering May 2023 - 44

SUGGESTED READING LIST FOR BUILDING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS
" The Leadership Challenge " by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, John Wiley & Sons, 2017
" The Making of a Manager " by Julie Zhou, Penguin Publishing Group, 2019
" Crucial Conversations " by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan and Switzler, McGraw Hill LLC, 2021
" The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership " by John C. Maxwell, HarperCollins Leadership, 2022
" The First Time Manager " by Belker, McCormick and Topchik, HarperCollins Leadership, 2021
" Emotional Intelligence 2.0 " by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, TalentSmart, 2009
" Strengthsfinder 2.0 " by Tom Rath, Gallup Press, 2007
" The First 90 Days " by Michael Watkins, Harvard Business Review Press, 2023
" On Managing Yourself " by Harvard Business Review, Drucker, Christensen and Goleman,
Harvard Business Review Press, 2011
" Leadership 2.0 " by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, TalentSmart, 2012
" Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 " by John C. Maxwell, HarperCollins Leadership, 2019
" On Leadership " by Harvard Business Review, Drucker, Goleman and George,
Harvard Business Review Press, 2011
to consider.
So, what if you decide to take a
new opportunity and now are leading
a team for the first time, working
in a business versus operational
setting, or changing to a new company
or work team? You certainly
want to get off to an effective start.
Your first months in a new role will
make a statement to those around
you on your capabilities, contributions
and potential.
One resource that I have found
very helpful in these situations is
the book " The First 90 Days " by Michael
Watkins. This book offers many
proven strategies and frameworks to
utilize when designing your transition
plan and build foundations for
a positive change to new work, new
relationships and new needed skills
to succeed. Watkins surveyed more
than 1,300 senior human-resource
leaders and about 90% of them
agreed that " transitions into new
roles are the most challenging times
in the professional lives of leaders. "
They also overwhelmingly agreed
that " success or failure during the
first few months is a strong predictor
of overall success or failure in the
job " [2].
One of the first tools discussed in
his book is a transition risk assessment.
This can be used even as you
are considering a new role or even
the change from your current role to a
new role. Questions help you assess
both the types of transition and your
assessment of how difficult each type
would likely be for you. Would you
be in the same company or group or
moving to a new company or location?
Is it a cross-functional leader44
ship
role? Is the new role newly created
or existing and clear?
Once you decide upon and make
the move to the new role, your challenge
is to make the transition as
smooth as possible. As a technical
professional, a first temptation is to
realize that your approach to the job
will need to adapt to the new priorities
and critical operational tasks
(COTs). If you now have direct reports,
you will want to successfully
build those relationships.
Understanding your strengths
(and derailers)
Taking a purposeful approach to
understanding your strengths and
weaker areas is important. You can't
be everything to everyone and you
need to play to your strengths, find
others around you (and on your
team) that cover your weaker areas,
and know your potential derailers.
Working on the potential derailers
is often more critical than building
up your weaker areas. Key associates
and friends can help you in this,
along with the reference " Strengthsfinder
2.0 " mentioned in the box.
One of the mentors in my career
reminded me that " If you always do
what you have always done, you
will only get what you already have
got. " He also reminded me that you
can't stand still in your career development
- you are either moving
forward or moving backward. As
I mentioned in my prior article [1],
there are many opportunities for
self development - having mentors,
listening to podcasts, reading
books and magazines, web references
- the list is endless.
Staying in a technical career
You may have read this and concluded
that you want to stay primarily
on the technical career path. Good
for you. As I mentioned earlier, some
of the happiest and content chemical
engineers I know have stayed on a
primarily technical path. Some have
led small task teams, others have
been individual contributors. Some
have successfully switched back
and forth between leadership and
individual contribution roles. Only
you can decide what is best for you.
If you do choose the technical path,
be sure you are in an environment or
organizational culture where this is
rewarded and appreciated. This is
not always the case, and sometimes
that has led my peers to seek an opportunity
elsewhere where their contributions
are valued more.
Moving forward
Continued development is important
regardless of what career path you
choose. Certain skills become more
important and visible as you increase
job scope and begin to lead individuals
and teams. Find coaches and
mentors who can help you develop
new skills and approaches. Sometimes
new role or job opportunities
arise where you are currently, while
other times you need to actively pursue
them. In the end, only you can
evaluate what type of role is your
sweet spot to succeed and be professionally
satisfied.
■
Edited by Dorothy Lozowski
References
1. Forsythe, G., Owning Your Career: Taking a Hard Look
at 'Soft Skills', Chem. Eng.. pp. 41-44, July 2020.
2. Watkins, M., " The First 90 Days, " Harvard Business Review
Press, p. 1, 2013.
Author
Garrett Forsythe is an engineering
consultant and executive
coach specializing in operational
excellence and leadership development.
com,
Phone:
(forsytheopex@gmail.
610-304-0630).
With
DuPont, he had high-hazard
operation leadership experience,
business and sales leadership
roles, and helped design and execute
major enterprise-wide continuous improvement
programs inside DuPont and with external clients. He
now operates JGF Performance Consulting, LLC and
focuses on coaching early and mid-career individuals.
His 40+ years of operational, supply chain, business,
and consulting experience has primarily been in the
chemical and mining industries. He holds a B.S.Ch.E.
from the University of Delaware.
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