Winter 2015 Newsletter

DID YOU KNOW?

WINTER LEADERSHIP NEWSLETTER 2015

Facts, figures, and trends affecting the engineering and design industry with management, leadership, and Board work issues.

Engineering and Design Industry-

“Industry Leaders Say Engineering Employment on Rebound” by ACEC Engineering Business Index:

Backlogs are increasing substantially, and private markets continue to strengthen.
US engineering firm CEOs, remain encouraged about overall company performance and market trends, and see strong signs of recovery in employment, according to the latest ACEC Engineering Business Index (EBI) survey.
EBI surveys 275 engineering firm leaders on market and firm performance. A score above 50 is considered positive. The overall EBI survey was 68.8 for the 4th Quarter 2014.

“2015: The Year of the Advocate”, by Amanda Stratton, with the AIA Advocacy Outreach.

Less than 1 in 3 AIA members have ever met with their elected representatives.
Few architects serve on Boards or Committees that directly affect the built environment in their communities. Thus architects are losing influence, and the ability to shape the future.
AIA states “This is the year to stand-up for the architectural profession and our communities. It is the year of the Advocate.”

Management-

“4 Questions That Will Help Focus Your Day-to-Day Energy on Growth”, posted by Ray Altyah on Chief Executive Network.

What’s standing between your business current state and the bold vision your hope to achieve? If you answer any of the following four questions with a “no”, then the roadblock may just be yourself:
- Do you enable and empower your front-line leaders to run the day-to-day activities of your operations?
- Can they instill change and make decisions to do their job effectively, or do they need to check with you or their managers before making decisions, changing a process, or putting out a fire?
- When your front line has questions or problems, can they resolve it without coming to you to find out what to do?
- Can your team provide quality services and get deliverables out the door without your help?

Leadership-

“The Skills Leaders Need at Every Level”, by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman and published in the Harvard Business Journal.

Their research revealed in priority order:

Board Work-

“Trends That Will Drive Better Board Oversight in 2015”, posted by Warren Strugath in the Chief Executive Network.

Greater Independence- “The days when the Board was automatically subservient to Management are over.” Said Keith Gottfried, an attorney and partner in Morgan Lewis’ business and finance practice.
More Strategic Planning- “We are seeing Board developing strategy. There is increasing involvement in both long-term and short-term decision making.” Said Hank Boemer, Chairman and CEO of the Governance and Accountability Institute in New York.
More Genuine Board Diversity- Keith Gottfried recommends “Broader reach-out to identify and recruit capable people of different backgrounds and life experiences.”
Greater Alignment of Director’s Skills with Organizational Needs. Keith Gottfried states “Every company should go through the exercise of assessing the Board’s strengths and weaknesses. The Chairman should then be recruiting new Board members who have particular strengths needed by the organization.”
More Openness to Activist Shareholders- “More Boards are ready to meet with activist shareholders and listen to what they have to say.” Said Hank Boemer. Greater alignment of Director skills

Thought of the Day-

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” Peter Drucker

Contact Us For Your Corporate Consulting and Executive Coaching Needs-

Leading the Way, LLC

P.O. Box 79373

Charlotte. North Carolina 28271

704-905-0648

www.leadingthewayllc.com

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