The Replacements

ACEC class targets new engineering leadership

By Janine Anderson

John Boldt was worried no one could fill his shoes.

He’s not egotistical, mind you.

But he and his colleagues were looking deep in the pool of young engineers and didn’t see any cream rising to the top.

“We’re all getting older,” said Boldt, a past president of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin and vice president of Clark Dietz Inc., Kenosha. “Who’s gonna take over the firms?”

He might get his answer on April 26 when the ACEC Wisconsin’s Engineering Future Leaders program graduates its first class.

Phil Budde (left), ACEC Wisconsin’s president-elect, and John Boldt (right), ACEC Wisconsin’s past president, join Engineering Future Leaders attendee Mark Davy at a December reception. Photos courtesy of ACEC Wisconsin

This isn’t just any program, and it’s not open to just any engineer who comes along. The 19 engineering professionals who are spending eight months in Engineering Future Leaders were handpicked by their employers to attend.

And if that’s not a vote of confidence, it’s hard to say what is.

“They want them to understand how the business is run with plans that they will become principals with the firms in the not-too-distant future,” said Carol Godiksen, executive director of ACEC Wisconsin.

So, who’s gonna take over the firms? Maybe Chris Hitch, a project manager with National Survey and Engineering, a division of R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., Brookfield.

“I’ve been a project manager for two years,” he said. “I have aspirations to go forward.”

Aspirations are one thing; achieving a goal is another.

Boldt and his contemporaries watched with concern for years as they hired new employees and set them up in managerial positions. The younger engineers just weren’t following the same path as their predecessors.

Engineering Future Leaders classmates (left to right) Joseph De Young, Richard Smith Jr., Ryan Amtmann and Joseph Bunker study the pitfalls of risk management while presenter Randy Lewis (background) of XL Design Professional watches.

“We spent a lot of time in the business — a lot of time growing in the business and on community service and professional society service,” Boldt said. “The new generation coming up — the amount of time spent outside the workday wasn’t there.”

Boldt said he has some theories why things are different today. There are more two-career families than when he was starting out, and couples have to balance home responsibilities with those at the office.

Still, Boldt said he believes commitment to a leading role in the engineering industry takes more than 40 hours a week.

“Volunteerism is imperative to leading a company,” he said.

So Boldt started talking to other ACEC members and found a program he thought could give today’s engineers the training that was just a natural part of the job for his generation. He and Godiksen agreed to put a course together, and they looked at similar programs in other states to build their curriculum.

The result was Engineering Future Leaders, a six-session program covering team building and networking, marketing, risk management, government affairs, running the business, and managing professional and personal commitments.

By the time registration closed, 19 people — with experience ranging from less than five years to more than 20 years — from 13 firms were signed up for the inaugural course.

“We’re teaching people to be good businessmen and good leaders,” Godiksen said. “Many design professionals tend to be more introverted. This is giving them social skills.”

Attendee Ravi Jayaraman of Clark Dietz said he’s already putting his lessons to use.

“I learned to take time out of my routine life and spend time with my co-workers,” he said.

The sessions taught him more about how to give employees praise and the benefits of a motivational leadership style.

“If you’re going to reward someone, do it publicly so it motivates,” he said. “Other people would like to be rewarded similarly.”

He also learned to step back and let employees take on more responsibility. Not micromanaging, Jayaraman said, gives him more time to work with employees who need a guiding hand.

Hitch said the course helped him see aspects of the industry he never considered.

“Many of the topics are things you never learn in school,” he said. “Risk management, government affairs, understanding how the politics of the state impact the work we do as consultants, running a business, interpreting financial reports.”

The best part, Hitch said, is talking to the principals of some of the area’s largest firms.

“They would give examples that ‘this is the mistake I made, and here’s what I learned from it,’” he said. “They’ve been honest with us as a group, and you feel they’ve been where you’re at.”

Jayaraman, meanwhile, said he considers it a bonus to share ideas with his peers.

“Networking has been a wonderful feature,” Jayaraman said. “I’ve met 20 people similar to me.”

But the theory Boldt developed at the outset of the program holds true. The time spent fulfilling a membership in the program sometimes comes at a high price.

“It is a focused kind of commitment,” Hitch said. “It would be like if you were going to night school and working during the day.”

So the classmates keep each other on track, handling a demanding schedule of at-home reading through a buddy system that ensures everyone is prepared for the next session and has someone to turn to for assistance. It’s a lot of work, but Hitch said it helps to have the support of his wife and firm.

He said some in the class have children, and he doesn’t know how they find the time to balance all of their responsibilities.

“It’s something you need to invest in,” Hitch said. “You see the investment the firm is making in you and the benefits to it, and it’s not hard to put the time in.”

Boldt, who attends the sessions, is watching Hitch and his 18 classmates put in the necessary time. He said seeing their dedication and how they absorb the information gives him confidence in the next generation.

He’s no longer quite so concerned about who will follow in his footsteps.

“I don’t have that worry anymore,” Boldt said. “The leadership of our firms is in pretty good hands. From what I’ve seen, they’re a very good group, and they’ll serve their firms well.”