Hey, it’s Collin. Welcome to Engineering Echelons, a newsletter full of ideas and insights to help engineers excel at management.

Here’s what I’ve got for you this week.

• New and noteworthy news

• A management perspective to consider

• Leadership insights to delve into

• And more…

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Alright, let’s get into it.

Noteworthy Headlines

Inflation picks up to 2.7% as tariffs start to seep into prices (WSJ)

Highlights:

• Inflation picked up in June, a potential sign that companies are starting to pass tariff costs on to customers.

Inflation, rising claims, costs, riskier business reasons cited for rate increases in A&E market (Insurance Journal)

Highlights:

• 67% of the insurers surveyed plan to target rate increases on accounts with adverse loss experience

• 42% will target firms with higher-risk projects, such as condominiums and other residential construction

• 42% will target higher-risk disciplines, including structural engineering, geotech, civil, and mechanical engineering

• 33% reported planning increases across their entire book of business

Non-residential spending fell 1.1% year-over-year in May (ENR)

Highlights:

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_{*Partners may compensate Engineering Echelons and/or its contributor(s) for sharing their message(s).}

Management Perspective

Doctors have Grey’s Anatomy. Lawyers have Suits. Politicians have The West Wing. Hedge fund managers have Billions. Even chefs have The Bear. Popular media has no shortage of stories that glorify certain professions, casting them as heroic, essential, and exciting.

Engineering, however, rarely gets the spotlight.

This cultural gap is a major issue. When the value of engineering isn’t well understood, it’s often undervalued. Externally, this can happen with society, clients, and students who are thinking about what industry to enter. Internally, younger staff are especially susceptible to not understanding the importance of what they are working on, which can lead to burnout and attrition.

As engineering managers, we have to bridge that gap. We need to advocate for our profession holistically; a lot of times we only do that externally with clients.

Here’s how you can help your team understand the value of their work.

Be the one who starts the conversation.

Don’t assume your team will ask you how their work matters. You have to be the one to initiate the conversation and then keep it going. If you wait, by the time you notice an issue, it might be too late.

Explain why.

This concept has been popularized by Simon Sinek. Explaining why a project is happening in the first place, why your firm is doing it, why the timing matters, and so on, is important for helping everyone understand how the project came to be and what the goals are. Which leads into…

Connect daily tasks to the bigger picture.

Young staff may be working on small tasks on a big project, such as reviewing equipment cutsheets, coordinating BIM clashes, or picking up redlines. Being in the weeds like this limits staff purview for the entire project. It’s your job to show the link between their tasks and how that contributes to the overall deliverable. Then link the project deliverable to construction and, ultimately, the end user. The more specific the resulting benefit of their work, the better.

Make recognition part of the culture.

Recognizing effort is part of a feedback loop that reinforces that behavior. It doesn’t have to be anything over the top. Small, consistent actions are more meaningful over the long term.

Give them the language to describe their work.

Young engineers often struggle to articulate what they do to non-engineers. Equip them with narratives they can use—inside and outside the organization—that highlight both the technical complexity and value of their work.

Show career paths.

When you show future career paths based on what your people are currently working on helps build meaning and guidance into their work. Generally speaking, there are people management, project management, technical leadership, and business development career paths that project engineering roles can grow into. Making this apparent to your staff instills a sense of agency and gives them a direction in which their motivation can work.

Final thoughts: In a world where engineering rarely makes the screen, your voice as a leader matters immensely. You can help engineers see what society often overlooks: that their work is vital, impactful, and worth being proud of.

Internal advocacy isn’t just about visibility—it’s about building a culture where engineers feel their work is meaningful, their efforts are recognized, and their careers are on a path worth pursuing.

If you want to retain great engineers, start by helping them see the greatness in what they do.

Management Insights

Sherlock Holmes on accumulating knowledge:

“I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose.”

—

Richard Feynman on continuous improvement:

“You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even a day ago. You are here to create yourself, continuously.”

—

Glenna Doyle on not disappointing yourself:

“Your job, throughout your entire life, is to disappoint as many people as it takes to avoid disappointing yourself.”

Management Resource

Careers are not linear (Better than Random)

A short article reminding us that compounding is everywhere, including career trajectories.

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Get in Touch

Did something strike a chord? Tell me about it.

Or…

• Let me know if you’ve found something worth sharing.

• Let me know what challenges you’re having as a manager.

• Let me know what challenges you see other managers having.

Send me an email at [email protected]

Looking forward to hearing from you. See you next time.

Collin

Partners