Leading Diverse Engineering Organizations

Final Paper pdf 161KB

Many positions within the engineering field continue to call for leadership skills as academic institutions still struggle to find ways for engineering and engineering technology students to develop these types of skills. In addition, today’s engineering organizations are becoming more culturally and organizationally diverse; and therefore, all employees are expected to be competent in their discipline and function within a diverse multidisciplinary team environment. While some older leadership styles such as trait based leadership and contingency theory are still reliable, the evolution of some engineering work environments demand a different approach to leadership. Organizations today need a flexible, a more egalitarian structure that allows employees to learn their role as a process, emphasizing communication with leadership. Situational leadership can provide these parameters, allowing for extensive personnel growth within an organization. This pilot study examines how the lack of leadership development in both engineering and engineering technology university curriculums as well as organizations can effect both leaders and followers growth within organizations.

Author(s):

Scott Goldman    
Technology Leadership and Communication
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
United States

Patricia Fox    
Technology Leadership and Communication
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
United States

Charles McIntyre    
Engineering Technology
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
United States