A Leadership Opening I Didn’t Expect
When I first started considering a formal position in engineering leadership at NASA, it was because I had discovered a conundrum. The mechanical engineering department head had decided that he wanted to go back to project management. As part of the department (albeit not a mechanical engineer), my reaction to the announcement was to think about who might take over and how they would shape things. I didn’t think in solitude; I also asked other people in the department and people close by, such as stakeholders and adjacent engineering departments. I quickly found that not many people favored the deputy department head to move up. So then, who?
Looking for the Best Candidate and Finding None
I tweaked my questioning toward ‘who would be good?’ And from there to ‘what characteristics are needed?’ I was trying to identify good candidates that I might be able to recruit to apply for the role. But one by one, all the good candidates expressed their disinterest. None were leery of the role, instead they were happy where they were and/or happy being on a different trajectory.
Realizing I Might Be the Candidate
At some point I got the thought (probably somebody mentioned it) that maybe I should apply. Fortunately, I had already done some of the homework such as identifying the competition and gathering information on the necessary characteristics. I had enough relationship with the next level management to inquire directly and was encouraged to apply, and the encouragement felt sincere. Same with the outgoing department head, who was my boss.
Preparing to Compete for the Engineering Leadership Role
So I built a new resume – tailored to the posting and emphasizing my engineering leadership experience in teams and decision-making. I further augmented it with personal activities that showed leadership qualities and success. All the work I had done trying to identify candidates and characteristics was a huge help in interview preparation, as did thinking about what engineering leadership at NASA is really like.
Deciding Whether I Wanted a Formal Leadership Role
There is also the other side of the coin to consider: Did I want the engineering department head job? This one was harder to evaluate. I didn’t think too much about it before applying (you get none of the jobs you don’t apply for). But I did gather information, such as speaking with multiple engineering department heads, and seeking counsel with my mentors. I gave it lots of thought so that I’d be ready if I got an interview. The decision was ‘yes!’ I’m really going for this.
The process was long but the interviewing went well and I got the job. The interview panel said my preparation was beyond expectations and the competition wasn’t as well-prepared. If you’d like help considering, applying, and becoming a new engineering leader, I’m here to help.
Engineering Leadership versus Engineering Management
Before closing, I want to check back to something I glossed over at the top of this post. This story pertains to me gaining my first position in formal engineering leadership. I would call this engineering management. I like to distinguish between engineering leadership and engineering management. Everyone can be a leader. Every engineer can and should be an engineering leader. It has to do with carefully forming thoughts and convincing others to support. It is leadership among technical professionals. We need more of this, and helping others grow their engineering leadership skills is my professional mission now.
Helping Engineers Lead is My Mission
Engineering management, on the other hand, is the formal, organizational structural role; department head in this case. Engineering managers should be engineering leaders, too, but many are not. Some engineering managers focus on the administrative role – timecards and performance plans and all that – and avoid or minimize their engineering leadership responsibilities. Tragically, many engineering managers are swamped by the administrative burden and can’t find time or energy to really lead. That is also within my mission: helping engineering managers streamline the administrative tasks so they can lead (I’ll share helpful skills, techniques, and philosophies). All you have to do is ask.