My Experience in Engineering Leadership at NASA
First, for readers who aren’t aware, I worked at NASA for nearly 25 years until recently, much of it in the engineering leadership ranks. If you’re curious, check out my LinkedIn profile.
NASA’s Unique Profile
Given NASA’s place in popular and technical culture, and it’s dominance in the best places to work rankings, you might think it’s a dream place to be a leader. And given that it is an organization dominated by engineers, scientists, and other technical professionals, you might think it is more specifically a dream place to be an engineering leader. Well, yes and no, but mostly yes.
What Makes Leading at NASA Easier than Other Organizations
The Agency is well-loved throughout the American public. NASA is also beloved internationally; if you travel, you’ve probably noticed NASA t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats everywhere. Successes garner an outpouring of public support. Failures also garner an outpouring of public support. The American People are behind NASA. Congress consistently funds NASA. Presidents consistently advocate for NASA, even as each has their own perspective on priorities. All this love makes it an easier place to be a leader than at less-loved organizations.
Strong Engineering Workforce
The workforce is stellar (pun intended). Technically strong throughout, including civil servants and contractors. Highly engaged. Caring of the Agency, the missions they work on, and each other. As an engineering leader, it would be unfair to expect better people to work with. Are there some apples in the barrel that aren’t as desirable as others? Of course there are, but fewer than in most organizations. The workforce tends to self-select high performers; it’s full of naturally overachieving and high performing engineers and scientists. As a technical leader, motivating them is less a concern than preserving their health and longevity.
What Makes Leading at NASA Tougher than Other Organizations
When it comes to rewarding or improving personnel performance, leading at NASA can be tough. There are few carrots and sticks, and those available are weak. Firing is very difficult. Hiring is hindered by federal bureaucracy. Performance incentives and training budgets are skinny. Promotion paths are a quagmire. As an engineering leader, I pushed against these weaknesses, but like many NASA leaders, I was able to lead successfully despite them. It requires careful, thoughtful, open-hearted conversations. Yeah, I know, not exactly natural for technical professionals; it’s a skill to be developed (I can help).
A Culture That Encourages Speaking Up
The working culture encourages everyone to form and share their own thoughts. This is overall a very good, essential concept. The philosophy is that useful ideas can come from anyone, and generally NASA is a safe, welcoming place for ideas. The downside potential is that people whose ideas aren’t adopted may disengage, but that’s a leadership challenge everywhere, and NASA is generally sensitive to that too.
High Expectations and How NASA Handles Failure
Given the reputation and lofty mission, expectations are justifiably high. This aspect of engineering leadership at NASA is tough. Difficult decisions are faced and made on a regular basis, and those involved feel the pressure. There’s lots of sweat over the details, yet mistakes are made. But arguably one of the best things about leading at NASA is that finger-pointing generally doesn’t happen.
On a bad day, cool heads prevail and a structured, fact-based evaluation ensues. The root cause is almost never ‘someone failed’ because there’s a reason that person failed, and that’s what NASA seeks to uncover, understand, and resolve. Maybe it was insufficient training, or fatigue, or vagueness in the procedure, or an old tool. Maybe the person could have done better, but the blame rarely resides solely on one person’s shoulders.
What Engineering Leaders Can Learn From NASA
Overall, NASA is a great place to work and lead. Like most places, the biggest part of engineering leadership and engineering management at NASA is soft skills. I put a lot of effort into developing my skills and helping others develop theirs, and have written about it.
I Help Engineering Leaders Develop Their Skills
Recently, I accepted the offer to retire early so I could help more technical leaders develop skills and overcome challenges. If you’re an engineering department head, engineering director, or in a similar role or aspiring to them, let’s explore how we can work together.