Hi Reader,

As a young engineer, it is always hard to figure out where I fit within my company and everything else I do. Most people think of leadership as something we are either given or naturally born with. In reality, leadership is more of a mindset and a way of thinking and acting. No matter your career stage, if you have the right mentality, you are already a leader.

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, whether you realize it or not, you are a leader.

I started reading You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader by Mark Sanborn this past week, and it has been great so far. Leadership is something our society has tied closely with position and power. What I love about this book is the fact that the stories are about regular people helping and guiding others during challenging times.

If you think about it, a leader is “the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country.” Nowhere in that definition does it say the “President” or “CEO” of an organization. Leadership is a mindset and way of thinking. I have been trying to cultivate this mindset and realize that even if I don’t have the title or experience required to be considered a leader, I can still lead from where I am.

My goal with most things I do online is to help other young professionals and students realize that leadership is possible from where you are. That is why the podcast is called Engineering our Future: Empowering Engineers to Become Leaders.

I have also had the pleasure to be part of a leadership committee to help structural engineers in their journey to become leaders. Giving them skills they need to succeed. Nowhere in any conversation does the topic of title or rank come up.

How are you leading from where you are?

Reply to this email, I would love to hear from you.

❤️ This Week’s Favorites

📚Reading -

​The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking: As someone who hates public speaking this book was a nice easy way to prepare and learn more about how to give a great speech.

🎧 Listening -

​Paycheck to Purpose: The Minimalists Podcast has been a long time favorite. This episode with Ken Colman, the author of Paycheck to Purpose, was great if you are struggling to find purpose in your career.

👀 Watching -

Space Titans on Discovery+: I have started to follow and interview more people that are working in space, so naturally I have been doing a lot more looking into this topic. I have always enjoyed following everything related to space, but it still amazes me how far we have come. This short movie was very interesting to learn more about how Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson who are investing millions of dollars to make space more accessible for everyone.

🤔 Pondering -

From Show Your Work! By Ausitn Kleon resurfaced using Readwise​

💻 Engineering our Future Content of the Week

061 // My Struggles with Mental Health

It’s no mystery that we’ve all been going through some really hard times since March 2020. Not only did the pandemic change the way we work, but also how we do literally everything else. And on top of that, each of us has our own life struggles to handle. Whether that’s money, family problems, illness, or even our personal goals. As a result, we’ve seen a number of people come out and express their challenges with mental health issues. And make no mistake, this includes those who we’d normally think are both physically and mentally tough.

Listen Now

060 // Empowering Women to Thrive in STEM with Kate Gunderson

In a previous episode, you learned that there are many roles at NASA and its contractors that don't require you to be a “rocket scientist”. However, if you do have an aerospace engineering degree or background, there’s probably a position for you as well. In this episode, you’ll hear from the woman who got one of these positions herself. Today, Kate Gunderson jumps on the show to talk about her life story all the way from a small town in North Dakota to landing her dream job at NASA. With a mechanical and aerospace engineering background, she elaborates on what she does at NASA’s Aircraft Operations Division, as well as her responsibilities as a Flight Science Officer.

Listen Now

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