Care and Feeding of your: Engineer

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Having an engineer on your team is like having a Swiss army knife, you can challenge them endlessly. Because of their independence, this versatile tool is easy to neglect while you focus on other team members who need much more direction.

Has your engineer wandered off and become disconnected, less productive, or possibly looking for the next job?

• engineers need ongoing training. Declare your annual training budget for them and allow them to strategize how best to invest that in courses and technology that will update and broaden their knowledge.- to maintain a SME status or round out other interests.


• engineers need to be facilitated in meetings. Some meetings are for brainstorming and information exchange and others are for one-way info-sharing. Prevent tangents and debates by setting the rules up front and tell the team which meetings are formal and reserved only for relevant, factual statements. Don't publicly contradict an engineer's statements, politely take it offline. In any topic, there are too many variables to consider to come to a concensus in a eloquent manner. Do not disagree publicly, speak with one voice.


• engineers need to practice the delivery. Engineers have their own language and the first time they provide status on each issue, it is a 10 minute incoherent and detailed summary of the problem, the analysis, and the conclusion. Managers HATE this, they just want the 5-second status. Engineers use this expression for confirmation of their thought process and to seek appreciation for their analysis. Allow them to express themselves in such a manner to flush their thoughts "off the record" and then retrieve your 5-second summary.


• engineers need to be the expert, but they can't be the expert on everything. Tell them explicitly where you need them to be authority and what their primary responsibility is. Give them a label, you are my Subject Matter Expert, SME, on "x;" where "x" is a single product, process, or a technology. In the same manner, clearly state your primary need for an engineer which should be categorized as consulting, requirements development, design, or training. From this comfort zone, they can meet the expectations every time and then exceed them by supporting other areas of the business.


• engineers need constraints. Before you issue the next problem, express all of the constraints that you are aware of, timeline, budget, quality, and political. Poorly defined requirements and boundaries lead to the "bring me another rock" syndrome.

While engineers appear to need less interaction and guidance than other team members, that doesn't mean they don't need any direction and appreciation. Understanding your engineer in this way can lead to a loyal engineer that solves problems with complete and proactive solutions, in a mentoring manner.