Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007 - 29

DESIGN + CONSULTING ENGINEERS tial process, including awareness of the need for future leaders, learning what skills are required to lead, skill and competency development, application and testing of learned skills, and supporting new and emerging leaders in establishing industry and global relationships. “The biggest hurdle could be demonstrating to younger workers that a leadership opportunity does not mean giving up the technical aspects of one’s career,” he adds. O n c e aware of the need to prepare effective future leaders, firms can be fairly artful in how the necessary learning is delivered. “There is any number of different choices for leadership development available,” says Davy. Formal training and coursework can be accomplished either inside or outside the firm, but internal mentoring and coachi n g programs also are required. “The development of future leaders also will be highly dependent on the types of proje c t s and management roles people are given,” he adds. Any leadership development program must consider how people will be placed in assignments so that they have the opportunity to learn and apply their new leadership skills. “Firms need to recognize that much of learning is done while doing.” Senior Executives Institute One important way that ACEC is contributing to the industrywide preparation of future leaders is through its Senior Executives Institute. “SEI is an executive leadership development program that creates a learning experience designed to help foster high-potential leaders and help them develop their leadership and communication skills,” explains Hoffman. SEI faculty uses methodologies that require active participation in the program. It is highly interactive, energetic, exploratory, challenging and intense. Emerging leaders learn about themselves, how they work with and lead people and the importance of interacting and learning from their community and the world. During the 21 days devoted to the Institute over an 18-month period, partic- ipants meet with prominent Capitol Hill policy makers for updates on industryrelated legislation, hold discussions with public and private sector clients, and conduct group deliberations, case study reviews, self-evaluation and extensive evaluation of leadership and management issues. Those who complete the course often create lifelong relationships with other participants, which develops and fosters best practices across the industry. “SEI provides people with the chance to know themselves better and allows them to develop a leadership style that is effective, that takes advantage of their strengths and that allows their full potential to develop,” says Polychronis, a graduate of SEI Class IX. According to Braley, SEI helps engineers address nontechnical global issues they may not have been exposed to before and helps create or expand interpersonal and professional networks throughout the industry. “SEI offers a robust approach to leadership and addresses both the global view and people’s individual needs.” It is, he concludes, an opportunity to attain higher levels of personal mastery and prepares people to lead the type of transformative work that will be required in today’s dynamic engineering industry. ACEC offers two flagship programs that provide emerging and executive leadership training. The Business of Design Consulting, an intensive multiday course that offers engineering leaders in-depth training in eight different management areas, will be held June 20–23, 2007, in Boston. In addition, ACEC’s landmark Senior Executives Institute provides superior executive leadership training over 18 months to professionals in the built environment. Visit acec.org/ calendar/eventList.cfm for more information and a complete listing of ACEC events. For additional reading on this topic, check out the following publications: Bench Strength; Growing Your Company’s Leaders; and Effective Succession Planning, 3rd Edition, which are available at www. acec.org/publications. ■ Ranked as one of the top ten “Best Structural Engineering Firm to Work For” by Structural Engineer Magazine Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH) is a national design and consulting engineering ﬁrm that applies advanced engineering to buildings. We are always looking for talented engineering candidates for all of our ofﬁces. To learn more about these opportunities and to apply, please visit our website at www.sgh. c o m / E m p l oy m e n t O p p o r t u n i t i e s . SGH is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in our work force. We offer excellent compensation and beneﬁts in a corporate culture based on learning and growth. Photos pictured clockwise from upper left: Beinecke Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT; John Hancock Tower, Boston, MA; Exeter Street Theater, Boston, MA; Macallen Building, Boston, MA. Boston • Los Angeles • New York • San Francisco • Washington, DC MARCH / APRIL 2007 ENGINEERING INC. 29

http://www.sgh.com/careers/overview.htm http://www.sgh.com/careers/overview.htm http://www.sgh.com/careers/overview.htm http://acec.org/calendar/eventList.cfm http://acec.org/calendar/eventList.cfm http://www.acec.org/publications http://www.acec.org/publications

Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007

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