Between managing people and juggling deadlines, engineering leaders have a lot on their plates. It can be easy to get so caught up in the daily grind that you forget that your employees need to see some very specific things from you.
In addition to daily support in their work, these are the things your engineering team really wants from you.
Empathy
Showing empathy by putting yourself in your engineers’ shoes helps to build trust. This is especially true if an engineer finds himself or herself struggling on the job. Make sure to always lead with empathy and try to understand where your employees are coming from.
Listening
Active listening skills are the hallmark of an exceptional leader. Active listening does require practice, even though it seems easy enough. It requires you to let the other person speak without interrupting – even to agree with them – repeating back what you heard and building on their points as you respond.
A Focus On Solving Problems, Not Challenges
You can spend all day trying to figure out why a problem arises, but that gets you nowhere. Your engineers want to work for someone who sees a problem and says, “how do we solve this,” rather than, “whose fault is this?”
Owning Your Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes. If you want your team to feel comfortable coming to you with their mistakes and challenges, you need to step up and be willing to admit when you make a mistake and to take responsibility for correcting it.
A Culture of Adaptability
As projects get rolling, they can take on a life of their own, and it’s important that team members have the tools to deal with challenges and roadblocks by adapting quickly and refocusing their efforts on achieving the goal.
Investment In High Performers
The employees who tend to take up the most time are those who struggle or who seem to attract problems. It’s easy to forget about your talented and trustworthy team members who come through no matter the circumstances. Failing to invest in those top performers can lead to turnover, as those employees may start to feel undervalued. Make sure to continually check in with your best employees, provide them with feedback, thank them for their contributions and reward their successes.
Delegation
Assuming you’ve hired the right people, you should be able to trust them with critical tasks. Delegation isn’t about easing your own workload; it’s really about developing your team. There are employees who want more responsibility and who are ready to take it on, and delegation is a great way to start training up people who have advancement potential.
Are You Looking For Strong Team Members?
Hiring well-aligned talent who adds value to the team helps you build credibility while achieving organizational goals. If you are looking for talented engineers who can help your organization achieve its goals, contact the experts at Selectek today.
