scholarly journals Developing Leadership Skills in Engineering Students – Foundational Approach through Enhancement of Self-Awareness and Interpersonal Communication

Author(s):  
David J. Bayless

Engineering leadership education is emerging as a vital addition to the development of theprofession. However, practitioners of engineering leadership education are still defining outcomes, objectives and curricula. The assumptions, desired outcomes, and our pedagogical approach to engineering leadership education discussed in this paper starts with a strategic assumption to minimize the emphasis on development of “vision” that is a clear focus of leadership training in business and other disciplines. While vision is clearly a critical leadership characteristic, engineering schools already excel at developing students who envision solutions to complex problems. Therefore, less effort is needed for the engineer to transition “problem solving” into “leadership vision.” Instead, the focus is placed on interpersonal communication (vs. organizational communication) and understanding of motivation and behaviors of self and with respect to interactions with others. This paper will present the methodology and reflective assessments in teaching engineering students “leadership communication,” and “self-awareness.”Leadership communication consists of techniques to develop intentional listening skills and questioning/interviewing approaches to define problems and understand motivations with emphasis on application of lessons learned from behavior inventory assessment. Further, the use of self and group reflection will be discussed in the context of both learning leadership concepts and increasing self-awareness.

Author(s):  
Zeyad Waleed Abualhamael

The aim of this chapter is to bridge the gap between literature about leadership studies and engineering education to develop future engineering leaders. The chapter focuses upon the hindrances that are faced in integrating leadership programs in the engineering circular. To this end, the chapter employed qualitative methodology under which it reviewed literature on multiple lines such as identifying significance of leadership for engineering students, identification of leadership practices and skills taught to engineering students, and the way this can be improved. Key findings of chapter emphasized on leadership as an important skill for future engineers thus demanding need for equipping engineers with skills needed to become an effective leader. It is found that having engineers to develop leadership skills will enable them to perform their role effectively, effectively allocate and utilize available resources. Thus, the chapter recommends integration of leadership knowledge and skills in engineering curricula through usage of variety of tools such as experiential learning and self-awareness.


Author(s):  
Robyn Paul ◽  
Lynne Cowe Falls

In the 21st century, graduating engineering students are required to have many skills beyond traditional technical skills. Leadership education in engineering has had an increased development over the past few decades, however there is still a lack of understanding of the effectiveness of these programs. This paper summarizes the results from a pilot study conducted with a group of undergraduate students. Engineering student leaders were given a leadership self-assessment at the beginning and end of their semester. Overall, a slight improvement was observed in the majority of the leadership competencies including character, teamwork, and technical. Male students had a decrease in their teamwork skills. Both genders ranked themselves lowest in technical abilities, however male students rated themselves significantly higher relative to female students. The findings from this study could be useful to develop and improve engineering leadership education programs based on the gaps of student competencies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74
Author(s):  
Sarah C. Rowlinson ◽  
Timothy C. Burg ◽  
William C. Bridges ◽  
Karen J.L. Burg

The traditional siloed academic environment and its attendant flow of information from "experts" to "novices" hinder the development of students' and faculty's asking and listening skills, which are an important part of turning ideas into impactful innovations. This manuscript describes the National Science Foundation/American Society for Engineering Education Innovation Corps for Learning (I-Corps® L) program and its associated evidence-based entrepreneurship methodology, which includes listening, asking, and updating valuation of a specific idea in response to learning the customer needs and pains. We provide a case study of our experience in the I-Corps L program and connect lessons learned to the proposed use of "customers" as a means to transform the academic environment. This customer-centric approach could shift how engineering students are taught about design and the pursuit of intellectual property (IP). For example, training would be redirected from focusing solely on the technical steps of writing a patent to emphasizing the process needed to protect an idea as part of creating impactful business activities. Students would obtain a "real-world relevant" understanding of IP by identifying who would use an idea and in what form, i.e., who will pay for the idea in a specific embodiment. Similarly, researchers are traditionally taught to defend ideas and question challenges rather than humbly learning the value of an idea by asking the potential customers. Asking and questioning are different skills, and asking without biasing the response with preconceived answers is necessary to understand the translational landscape of an idea. By making the customer the center of our teaching and research, we can all benefit from the use of evidence-based entrepreneurship to translate our clever ideas into impactful innovations.


Author(s):  
Amy Hsiao ◽  
Grant McSorley ◽  
David Taylor

This work presents an assessment of the development of leadership skills in fourth-year engineering students, who are project leads of teams that comprise of third-year engineering students in a yearlong Engineering Design and Professional Practice course. It is proposed that the success of peer learning is directly related to the growth and change in the project leads, the progress of the followers, and the strength of the leader-follower engagement. As such, this work will compare classroom observations with Leader-MemberExchange (LMX) theory and the concepts of servant leadership and authentic leadership in the context of an engineering workplace. This work will also discuss both the value of the inputs and the measure of the outcomes in this peer mentorship scenario, i.e. starting with the importance of the individual in peer mentorship, through reflection, goal-setting, and self-awareness, to the importance and practice of designated project lead management meetings, to the significance of knowledge transfer in the learning process. The challenges of peer learning at the undergraduate level will also be discussed. In presenting this work, the authors would like to promote knowledge sharing of how peer mentorship and the development of leadership skills have been implemented and assessed effectively in Engineering at other universities. Keywords: peer learning and mentorship, project-based teamwork, authentic and servant leadership, leaderfollower exchange.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110104
Author(s):  
Timothy P Daaleman ◽  
Mindy Storrie ◽  
Gary Beck Dallaghan ◽  
Sarah Smithson ◽  
Kurt O Gilliland ◽  
...  

Background: There is an ongoing call for leadership development in academic health care and medical students desire more training in this area. Although many schools offer combined MD/MBA programs or leadership training in targeted areas, these programs do not often align with medical school leadership competencies and are limited in reaching a large number of students. Methods: The Leadership Initiative (LI) was a program created by a partnership between a School of Medicine (SOM) and Business School with a learning model that emphasized the progression from principles to practice, and the competencies of self-awareness, communication, and collaboration/teamwork. Through offerings across a medical school curriculum, the LI introduced leadership principles and provided an opportunity to apply them in an interactive activity or simulation. We utilized the existing SOM evaluation platform to collect data on program outcomes that included satisfaction, fidelity to the learning model, and impact. Results: From 2017 to 2020, over 70% of first-year medical students participated in LI course offerings while a smaller percentage of fourth-year students engaged in the curriculum. Most students had no prior awareness of LI course material and were equivocal about their ability to apply lessons learned to their medical school experience. Students reported that the LI offerings provided opportunities to practice the skills and competencies of self-awareness, communication, and collaboration/teamwork. Discussion: Adding new activities to an already crowded medical curriculum was the greatest logistical challenge. The LI was successful in introducing leadership principles but faced obstacles in having participants apply and practice these principles. Most students reported that the LI offerings were aligned with the foundational competencies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105256292110413
Author(s):  
Shaista E. Khilji

In recent years, scholars have become critical of mainstream leadership development approaches. In particular, Petriglieri and Petriglieri refer to the dehumanization of leadership, whereby leadership breaks its ties to identity, community, and context. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for humanizing leadership using the case example of George Washington University’s Organizational Leadership & Learning (OLL) program. Embedded in the critical leadership studies (CLS) approach, the humanizing principles, and the humanistic leadership paradigm, the OLL program’s leadership learning approach focuses on building a learning community and stakeholder engagement. I describe its pedagogical goals and instructional strategies that help promote a psychologically safe space where learners build trusting relationships, integrate diverse perspectives through respectful dialogues, and develop a sense of the “common good” and culture of equity through issue-centered learning. Using classrooms as “identity spaces” and “leadership learning laboratory” allows learners in the program to practice the co-construction of ideas through mutual influence and interactions. This paper makes a valuable contribution to developing future leadership development programs.


2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Jo Kreitzer ◽  
Lixin Zhang ◽  
Michelle J. Trotter

Health professionals have jobs that are inherently stressful and most have had little opportunity or encouragement to focus on self-care. Over the past 10 years, professional development programs such as the “Courage to Teach” have been developed for teachers in primary and secondary schools. Reported outcomes include personal and professional growth, increased satisfaction and well-being, and renewed passion and commitment for teaching. Based on this model of transformational professional development, a program was developed for health professionals, the Inner Life Renewal Program. Four cohorts of health professionals have completed the program. This brief report provides descriptive information regarding the structure, format, and process of the program and evaluative data based on program evaluations and participant interviews. Outcomes reported by participants include an increase in self-awareness, improved listening skills and relationships with colleagues, and an increased ability to manage or cope with stress.


2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-47
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A Rider ◽  
Deborah D. Navedo ◽  
William T. Branch, Jr.

Introduction: The capacity of healthcare professionals to work collaboratively influences faculty and trainees’ professional identity formation, well-being, and care quality. Part of a multi-institutional project*, we created the Faculty Fellowship for Leaders in Humanistic Interprofessional Education at Boston Children’s Hospital/ Harvard Medical School. We aimed to foster trusting relationships, reflective abilities, collaboration skills, and work together to promote humanistic values within learning environments. Objective: To examine the impact of the faculty fellowship from participants’ reports of “the most important thing learned”. Methods: We studied participants’ reflections after each of 16 1½ hour fellowship sessions. Curriculum content included: highly functioning teams, advanced team formation, diversity/inclusion, values, wellbeing/renewal/burnout, appreciative inquiry, narrative reflection, and others. Responses to “What was the most important thing you learned?” were analyzed qualitatively using a positivistic deductive approach. Results: Participants completed 136 reflections over 16 sessions–77% response rate (136/176). Cohort was 91% female; mean age 52.6 (range 32-65); mean years since completion of highest degree 21.4; 64% held doctorates, 36% master’s degrees. 46% were physicians, 27% nurses, 18% social workers, 9% psychologists. 27% participated previously in a learning experience focusing on interprofessional education, collaboration or practice. Most important learning included: Relational capacities/ Use of self in relationships 96/131 (73%); Attention to values 46/131 (35%); Reflection/ Self-awareness 44/131 (34%); Fostering humanistic learning environments 21/131 (16%). Discussion: Results revealed the importance of enhancing relational capacities and use of self in relationships including handling emotions; attention to values; reflection/self-awareness and recognition of assumptions; and fostering humanistic learning environments. These topics should receive more emphasis in interprofessional faculty development programs and may help identify teaching priorities. *Supported in part by a multi-institutional grant from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation (Dr. Branch as PI; Dr. Rider as site PI).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betsy Willis ◽  
David Willis ◽  
Mark Fontenot

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenell Lynn-Senter Wittmer ◽  
Clinton Oliver Longenecker ◽  
Angie Jones

Purpose The current study explores the necessary leadership skills required for leadership succession in family businesses as well as best development activities for each skill. The current study provides suggestions for best practices in developing and utilizing peer groups as a leadership development method. Design/methodology/approach A needs assessment was conducted by surveying 150 family-business leaders. Leaders were asked, “What are your most pressing leadership development needs for your organization as you move toward succession? A follow-up question was then asked: “For each of these skills, what method would best help develop this skill for family business leaders?” The responses were content analyzed, placed into themes, and rank ordered. Findings High agreement amongst business leaders was found as eight leadership skills were cited by high percentages of family-business leaders. Leaders overwhelmingly reported peer developmental activities as being the best method for developing these skills. Originality/value Succession planning in family-businesses is critical as many family business fail to make it past the first or second generation. However, little research explores what specific leadership skills are necessary for optimal succession. As well, many leaders in public organizations seek individual methods of development, such as executive coaching, whereas family business leaders seek group activities to learn with/through their peers.


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