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…

First time reading? You can subscribe here.

Alright, let’s get into it.

Noteworthy Headlines

Construction jobs rebound in March (ENR)

Highlights:

• A month after construction hiring was reported to have fallen to its lowest rate on record, contractors reversed course and increased hiring in March, collectively adding 26,000 positions.

• For 2026, the industry has added an average of 19,300 jobs per month, an improvement over the first three months of 2025, when employment was actually declining.

2Q2026 NA Engineering & Construction Outlook (FMI)

Highlights:

• Overall spending is flat after a 1.4% decline in 2025. Eight out of nineteen market sectors are expected to contract in 2026.

• More than 70% of data center capacity has been pre-leased.

• Infrastructure leads consistent growth: sewage and waste disposal up 8%, water supply up 5%, and power construction up 4%.

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Management Perspective

Everyone knows the org chart that shows titles, teams, and reporting lines. It depicts a formal structure and domains of responsibility.

But there’s an informal network that isn’t documented anywhere.

This one is fluid and follows lines of communication, relationships, knowledge, and trust.

And while a lot of org charts are hierarchical, the informal networks are matrices.

It’s important to realize that the structure is a matrix because the most crucial parts of a matrix are the nodes.

Nodes are points of high connectivity. When it comes to people, those who are nodes are the ones whom others go to the most.

Which means they have an outsized impact on how teams operate. If they get burned out and leave, you’ll feel it more than if someone else left.

Therefore, figure out who these people are who operate as nodes. Help protect their time and energy. And when you’re designing teams, planning work, or thinking about growth paths, build around them.

And as the organization grows and evolves, more nodes are needed. Attract and develop these people to elevate the performance and resiliency of the company.

Management Insights

Seth Godin (entrepreneur) on quality:

“If quality is a problem, look at the system, not the people.”

—

Morgan Housel (author) on what outweighs intelligence:

“Any amount of intelligence can be overridden by: ego, insecurity, immorality, bad incentives, or impatience, usually in that order.”

—

James Clear (author) on comparison:

“Comparison is useful as a point and destructive as a loop.”

Management Resource

Burnout looks different across the org chart (HBR)

Burnout is different for different people. Factors influencing burnout include age, experience, responsibilities, and autonomy. This article delves into what this actually looks like.

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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

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