Annual reviews are just around the corner at my office and I received the standardized list of performance factors. I’m proud of my team. They look good on these lists. However, the most remarkable members of my team don’t stand out on these uniform HR reports.
Below are the traits of remarkable engineers. The engineers I want to promote. The engineers I want
They Focus on the Team
- “We can make that happen.”
- “We solved that problem.”
- “We are the champions, my friends …”
OK, the last one is only if they’ve recently seen Bohemian Rhapsody or they grew up in the 70s.
Not only do remarkable engineers give credit to the team, they also focus on the needs of the team. Teams are not just groups of individuals. They are living organisms and they need care and attention. Engineers who focus on the team:
- Get along with (nearly) everyone – This isn’t the team joker, this is the team culture builder. They work at building relationships inside the team and with members of other teams. First, they connect themselves to people …
- Push for collaboration – … then they connect others together. Because they’ve built connections with people, they know what others are doing and they find ways to put people together who can help each other.
- Look for opportunities to build rapport – Great teams have trust and that grows from a
sense of community. The engineer who organizes team lunches, or Dungeons & Dragons games, or brings incake once a month to celebrate birthdays is building a community. Those 15 minutes people stand around and eat cake isn’t lost productivity. It’s priceless team building, priceless trust building.
They Praise In Public
Everyone wants to be recognized by the boss at work, to know that their contributions are valued. Remarkable engineers praise their peers both in public and private. Acknowledging others in a group setting is a great way to build the rapport mentioned in the previous section. Especially if the person giving the praise is always looking for ways to praise different people.
It’s easy to praise the rock star. It takes time and effort to praise some of the others. And yet all of them need praised. Watch for those team members that do that. They’re building a positive culture.
They Dissent In Private
You’re the boss and that means that sooner or later people are going to disagree with you. Yeah, you’re right: sooner. Rather than cause a rift – or widen an existing one – remarkable engineers will enlist you in the solution.
- “I felt like your tone in that last meeting was accusatory. As frazzled as the team is, I think that’s going to hurt morale.”
- “The rift between Marcus and Phil is getting worse. It seems like you’re ignoring it and I think something has to be done.”
- “I disagree with the decision to put this new project ahead of keeping the service level agreement to our existing clients. Even if it’s just for a few months.”
Someone must tell you and that’s a difficult role to undertake.
They Are Adaptable
There’s the hardcore punk rocker who flirts with the limits of the dress code but remembers to put on a pair of Dockers when clients are in the office. There’s the dissenter who told you they didn’t approve of the new strategy but encouraged the team to get behind it anyway after you listened to their reasoning. There’s the extraordinary genius who can dial it back and explain technical details to “normal” people without sounding condescending. There’s the engineer who is a smart-ass with one client and at the next meeting they’re all “yes ma’am” and “yes sir.”
Remarkable engineers can adapt to their situations. They don’t lose themselves in conformity, but they know when it’s necessary.
They Are Good News Couriers
- “I saw on LinkedIn that Kathy (your peer in another division) just hit 20 years with the company.”
- “Julio (one of your employees) won some kind of storytelling contest in Toastmasters last week. It’s a pretty big deal.”
- “I was on the phone Gerald (a customer) and he was thrilled with the job Carol (one of your employees) did on the
midcity project.”
Many of your engineers keep their ears to the ground. Remarkable engineers use that power to keep you in the loop. This is similar to building rapport from earlier in the article, but this time they’re helping you build rapport with your team by letting you know when to praise and congratulate.
The Final Takeaway
I had three particular engineers in mind when I wrote this. I didn’t mean for this to be an article on social skills. I didn’t even realize it had until the section on good news couriers. But it certainly turned out that way.
Remarkable engineers have strong social skills. Make sure you note that and reward them.
Author: Tracy Thomason
Agile project manager by day, craft beer drinker by night, and avid reader anytime I can get 5 minutes alone with my Kindle.
More posts by Tracy
Featured photo by Evan Kirby on Unsplash
Punk rock girl by AdinaVoicu on Pixabay