3 Reasons Why I Love Being an Industrial Engineer.

When I was in high school and thinking about my future, I told my mother that I was considering becoming an accountant. She looked at me and asked why. She thought it was a "male job". I said I didn't know; that maybe because I was good at math. After seeing her reaction and also thinking to become a math teacher like her, I went to school and asked the social worker if she had a book on potential fields to study.

My school was a poor public school. The only thing she was able to find for me was a catalog from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez that had a description of all the fields and programs they offered at that time. She suggested taking a look at the engineering program. Up until that point, it had never occurred to me that I could become an engineer.

As I started reading about all the different engineering fields, two of them caught my attention, mechanical and industrial engineering. I had always liked assembling and dismantling things. The idea of working with machines and equipment was appealing to me. However, there was something about the description of industrial engineering and its relation to human factors, work systems, equipment and people that resonated in my head.

After pondering and thinking, I decided to go for that field. I love engineering so much that I have put together a list of things that I believe are the highlights of being an engineer:

1. You can see how  "nothing" becomes "something"- if you are a "results-oriented" person like me, then engineering will provide you a gratifying experience. The process of creating something out of an idea, a dream, or a concept is indescribable. I always get excited when a client or a colleague has a vision and through brainstorming, planning, and hard work, we make that vision become a reality.  
2. You can change "lives" - when I graduated, I started working on the medical devices manufacturing industry. Every day when I was at work,  I thought about how my job and the job of my employees could save a life. Especially when I was in charge of products used for surgeries in babies and infants. The same feeling I had when I was working for the government as owner's representative on one of the largest water distribution projects in Puerto Rico. There was a class lawsuit where some communities sued the government because they had no access to potable water. The scope consisted of small construction projects to build a series of water tanks, pumping stations, and pipeline installations to bring potable water to those communities. Dealing with multiple contractors and community complaints was not fun; however, once the project was completed, seeing grown people cry over getting potable water was priceless. 
3. You can work at anything - most of us who studied engineering are introverts. We usually limit ourselves and think we can only do one type of job. I am grateful that life has put people before me that have allowed me to work in many different fields such as public works, construction, marketing, and business development.  I approached each one of those jobs with an engineering mentality. I always thought of the vision first, the planning, scheduling, and what the end-result should be. When I left the manufacturing industry, which is a "customer-centric" industry, I started working for the government. I looked at the community as if they were our customers and I instilled that mentality on my employees. We had people coming to our office because they could not believe that we were working with work-orders and fill-rates. Yes, the same work-order system and fill rates rationale that I had used in manufacturing. If it works, why change it.

I believe in engineering, and this field of study has opened many doors for me. It has made me explore life, understand people, change people's quality of life, experiencing challenges, thinking out of the box, inventing, and creating. It has made me push myself, solve problems, look at a situation and wondering what else can be done.  I encourage you to read more about it. Perhaps you will find it as interesting as I do.

Purpose Leadership: The Importance of Being a Mentor

Since the beginning of my career, I've had mentors. I never asked for one but, fortunately, my supervisors always decided to give me advise on how to improve certain aspects of my professional life. I guess they felt that I was open to it, and it was worth the effort.

I will never forget the day I had my first professional interview at a manufacturing company in Puerto Rico. I had to meet with five (5), different managers. They were interviewing recent college graduates for Production Supervisory positions they had available. The company was undergoing a re-engineering process, and they wanted to hire junior engineers to help streamline processes and maximize productivity. I was selected by a very refined, yet exceptionally straight-forward Cuban-American manager. He said to me, "I chose you because although you seem extremely shy, you also appear to have high potential." That was the beginning of a mentoring process that at that moment I did not see coming.

I was assigned to work the third shift (10 pm to 6 am). However, every morning after my shift ended, he wanted me to stay around for meetings and conference calls with the company US headquarters.  His goal was for me to practice my English language skills, work on my confidence, and learn more about the business. Every time we had one of those conference calls, I felt like I was about to die. I had headaches, dizziness, and stomach pains.

Once, he said to me that even when I was doing a terrific job balancing production lines and implementing productivity measuring tools, nobody knew who I was. He indicated that it was critical for me to network with the other managers. That suggestion caused me a lot of stress. I could not understand why I needed to talk to anyone else. I was doing my job well, production output was enough, I was even implementing tools to measure production efficiency; so to me, this was mean and unnecessary. However, pushing myself to follow his recommendation helped me being promoted very quickly to the first shift and also to be considered for a new position as master production planner helping the company to implement a plant-wide supply-chain system successfully.

Like him, I've had many supervisors and colleagues who have provided mentoring advice. It has not been in a formal fashion where you meet purposely to discuss a working plan, yet it has been consciously done. It is tough to provide advice when none has been requested; however if you have the opportunity to mentor someone, do not let that opportunity pass. Mentoring is a two-way street, and it benefits the mentor, and the one mentored.

Here are some key points on how to become a mentor:

1. Observe and Listen: Observing how people perform and what they say is a good way to identify potential in someone. Usually, individuals who are introverts also have high performance. These types of people usually associate success with end-results. What they don't realize is the importance of verbal communication and networking. If you see someone like that, talk to that person. Ask about her/his interests. Let them know that if they need information or guidance, you are more than willing to help.
2. Suggest extra-tasks: Most of the things that I have done in my professional life and that have been outside of my comfort zone, have been assigned to me as extraordinary tasks. I had no choice but to take on those responsibilities. My supervisors would say: "I need you to do this" or "you will be involved in or leading this project."  They also highlighted that if I had questions or needed any support, not to hesitate to ask for it. They reinforced their confidence in my abilities to get the job done. One time, one of them said to me "I have more faith in you than you have in yourself. Go and get that job done!". It was such an eye opener for me that I've never forgotten that moment. 
3. Performance reviews are an excellent tool to provide honestly and well-intentioned feedback: Utilize performance reviews not only to go over end-results and new goals but also to discuss potential projects, areas of improvement, and how you can help that person make progress. You can also discuss and suggest other areas of work, lateral career moves, social activities, and potential professional organizations.

Being a mentor is a great privilege but also a tremendous responsibility. You can have an impact on people's careers. You can also an effect on the performance of the organization. I am convinced that employees feel more accountable and productive when they know and believe the organization cares about them.

I will always remember when I was a production supervisor, and I had to convince people to work overtime. I always helped my employees on whatever they needed. I was always available to talk to them. Therefore, whenever the company needed them to work extra time, they always said that because I had been there for them, they were going to be there for me. I honestly believe in leading by example.

As leaders, we need to have a commitment to continuous improvement. Sometimes we want the glamor of a job position and the money associated with it but we don't want the greater purpose that goes with it.

Mentors are life-long friends, people that end up knowing you and being part of your success and your journey. My mentors are people that I feel grateful for and will forever be connected to.

Pass your knowledge to others. Teach and share your experiences. Connect with others on a deeper level. That's part of being a leader. Go for it!

About the author: Aixa is an Industrial Engineer and Marketing Professional with twenty-three (23) years of experience in a variety of industries such as manufacturing, supply-chain, public works, construction, business development, and marketing. She enjoys writing about topics related to leadership, performance, and continuous improvement and how to apply industrial engineering concepts to regular life.