View from the C-suite is a monthly interview series with leaders in the civil engineering industry, designed to provide peers with insight into advancing their careers. This month’s installment features Jeffrey Magner, P.E., M.ASCE, national director of technology and digital infrastructure at Terracon in Des Moines, Iowa.
Civil Engineering Source: What is your favorite aspect of leadership?
Jeffrey Magner: I enjoy getting to know each team I’m leading and looking for the strengths in each person on that team. I enjoy learning how individuals, each with their own skills and strengths, bring value to projects or processes.
Source: What three nontechnical skills should all civil engineers cultivate in their practices?
JM: Delegation, change management, and being a good listener. Delegation becomes so important in a leadership role because it frees you up to develop others. And when you think of the growth of your organization, delegation allows you to transfer your technical or leadership skills to younger engineers on your team. It’s a partnership. You share the vision of a project and then give them the freedom and authority to do some things on their own.
Further reading:
- From mentee to mentor: This civil engineering leader offers career growth advice
- There’s no single path up the career ladder for civil engineers, executive says
- Civil engineering leader says running solo practice offers work-life balance, efficiency
With change management, there are always newer and better ways to do things, and if you don’t have a concept of that, it can be a challenge for your team or organization.
When you truly listen and understand another person’s point of view, that can help solve a challenge or help develop someone. It’s really a key skill.
Source: Who has helped shape your civil engineering career?
JM: I had a supervisor early in my career, and because of organizational shifts, they weren’t my supervisor anymore and then became my manager again. Throughout these shifts, this person helped position me for opportunities for career advancement. It wasn’t always about teaching me technical skills, although that was part of it. The bigger part of it was having someone look out for my best interests and being put into a position to take on new challenges.
It’s really helpful to have a supervisor – I also like to use the word mentor – help you understand the ropes and where you fit in and what a career path could look like for you. Younger engineers need to be purposeful about those situations where they can take opportunities to be a leader.
Source: What is one of your career regrets – and what did you learn from it?
JM: One of the regrets I have was not having the courage to speak up earlier on in my career. An example: You work on a project where, early on, you see something important that doesn’t seem like a big deal to your team at the time, and you choose not to speak up about it. And because you don’t, the project goes off the rails. Later, you have to come full circle with a lot of time and effort that could have been avoided if you had spoken up early on.
Speaking up can cause conflict or discomfort in the project team or a relationship with a co-worker or maybe with your manager. If you don’t speak up, though, you’re going to miss opportunities to see improvements. Speaking up saves money, time, and relationships.
I think about this, too, when providing feedback to a co-worker or somebody I’m mentoring. Providing feedback can sometimes be difficult, but it can be gold too. I always look at it as a golden nugget. Not giving feedback can be one of the worst things you can do for somebody.
Source: What is your time-management philosophy?
JM: I often struggled with time management early in my career. Being a technical person, I’d like to have all the information before making a decision. I wanted to have all the bases covered. I learned that most of the time, decisions need to be made when you don’t have all the information.
In fact, if you wait to try to get it, oftentimes you miss an opportunity to provide value. In my experience, if you have half or more of the information that you need to make a decision, then you need to present that to the client, set their expectations, and then make it. You can always course-correct later.
Source: How did you learn the values you embody in your leadership practice?
JM: I saw leadership characteristics in my mentors, co-workers, and clients, and I learned through experience when things didn’t go well. Younger engineers, you’re going to have a number of mentors throughout your career, and when you look at a new position or company to work for, think about more than just the salary.
Are you going to step into a role where you feel like you’re going to have a good mentor? What’s the culture like in an organization when it comes to mentoring, training, and opportunities? These three things are going to advance your career.
