The difference between good
and great engineers
The 2019 SKF NMEC conference theme is Growing Great Engineers. With the conference just a month away (so get your registration in now!), I thought I would share my views on the difference between good and great engineers.
I’ll let you know up-front that I am not an engineer and have never run an engineering team, but over the last 15 years involvement with the NMEC conference, I have met with hundreds of maintenance and reliability managers, project engineers and CEO’s and discussed the performance of their engineering teams. From this I’ve developed some ideas and views – see what you think.
1. Know what you value, and why
Contrary to the hype in some circles, business culture is not about providing a dart board or free lunches or clever motivational posters for the back of the lunchroom door.
While these can be beneficial, culture is the set of unspoken but understood rules, guidelines, and values that a team will steer themselves by. It’s the peer pressure that shapes behaviour in powerful ways.
And while every culture will be different based on the business strategy, for engineering there are some common elements found in the very best teams.
2. Exceptional engineers…are ambitious and determined
Engineers have a growth mindset. They want to solve problems and they persist in the face of setbacks. They learn from critical advice, and they’re inspired and learn from the success of others.
Ambitious and determined engineers will outperform and grow faster than others who are perhaps more talented but lack self-drive. Spend your time helping ambitious engineers grow.
3. Exceptional engineers… simplify
Exceptional engineers make things simpler, clearer and easier to work.
They take care of the unglamorous or mundane quickly and effectively, and without fuss or huff.
4. Exceptional engineers…help others be great
Everyone wants to work with the great engineers that they have more impact by helping those around them to learn, improve and thrive. They understand that ‘Productivity = sum of talent x teamwork’ and they naturally raise both talent and teamwork on a team.
5. Exceptional engineers…know what’s valuable
Typically, a business will value features that sell. But what about the value of honest feedback, of quality, of creativity and innovation, and the value of the ability to move fast. A great engineer has good judgment on what matters most at any point in time.
Recruit and retain those exceptional people to be your great engineers.
NMEC 2019 supports a strong engineering education culture in our industry. At the Maintenance Engineering Society, we recognise this as a critical challenge for our members and for NZ Inc. NMEC is the best forum for continuous learning for today’s engineers.
We need to re-fashion engineering with a greater emphasis on applications, problem-solving, creativity and analytics along with our practical, hands-on view of engineering.
The annual NMEC event is staged to bring together as many engineers as we possibly can to learn...
• From each other through well-thought-out networking opportunities.
• From the exhibitors as solution providers.
• From the expertise and inspiration of our invited speakers.
REGISTER NOW! We welcome all engineers, asset managers, and project and operational teams
to join us at NMEC 2019 in Rotorua, 12 - 14 November 2019.
