Systems Thinking Concepts and Applications for Engineering Leadership Development

Abstract

is President of Leading Edge Management, LLC and Electrical Expert, Inc. in College Station, Texas. He earned a B.S. in Engineering from the University of New Orleans, an M.Engr. in Electrical Engineering and a D.Engr. from Texas A&M University, and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. Dr. Aucoin has performed research and teaching in academia and has worked in large and small organizations. He served on a Mishap Investigation Board with the NASA Johnson Space Center. He received the IEEE Third Millennium Award, and projects he helped lead received the NSPE Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award and R&D 100 Award. He is a Registered Professional Engineer and earned the Project Management Professional Certification.

An Overview of the Hornet Leadership Program in the College of Engineering & Computer Science at California State University, Sacramento

“…• Leadership learning outcomes were measured by: 1) Effective leadership, 2) Synthesis and problem solving, 3) Practical competence and 4) Change agility. • Consistent with the trends in industry, topics such as Ethics [16], Systems Thinking [17,18,19], Innovation [20] and Peer Coaching [21] have gained emphasis in the leadership curricula.…”

Engineering Leadership: Transitioning from “Soft Skill” to Hard Data

“…Given the importance of leadership in the practice of engineering, it is important that we find ways to make leadership more familiar, attractive, and attainable to engineers while also preparing them with the skills and tools they will need for the workplace. Aucoin 13 demonstrated the striking similarities between the engineering method and leadership 14 and between the mental skills used by engineers and leaders 15 . Further investigation demonstrates just how similar the practice of leadership is to engineering.…”