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Why Communication Is a Unique Challenge for Engineers

If you ask most engineers what skill set matters most for career success, you’ll likely hear some version of this:

Technical excellence. Problem-solving. Analytical thinking.

And they wouldn’t be wrong. As an electrical engineer myself, I would have said the same.

But that would be false.

After more than a decade of coaching engineers and other IT or STEM professionals, I have seen a consistent pattern:

Some of the smartest, highest-performing engineers struggle not because they lack capability but because they lack the communication skills to navigate the human side of the workplace.

In fact, when I began my own corporate journey after earning my BS and MS in electrical engineering, I quickly discovered that my lack of communication and leadership skills hurt my career success greatly—despite hard work ethics and strong performance on the job.

Let’s talk about why this happens.

Engineers are trained to think logically and solve problems. They are not trained to communicate those problems, tell powerful stories about them, or explain them to their non-technical counterparts in simple language.

Engineering education does an exceptional job of preparing students in:

• Analytical thinking
• Technical modeling
• System design
• Mathematical reasoning
• Precision and optimization

I know this first-hand as I went to a top engineering program for my degrees.

But workplace success in every organization requires something else entirely:

➡️The ability to communicate and lead and influence
➡️The ability to translate complex ideas into business value
➡️ The ability to ask for resources
➡️ The ability to advocate for your impact and contribution
➡️ The ability to resolve misunderstandings
➡️ The ability to build trust across non-technical teams

As I teach both in my private coaching program for engineers or STEM professionals in industry or in my university workshops, highly technical individuals often think analytically and lack the ability to translate their thoughts into leadership and management language.

That translation gap is where many careers quietly stall and the reasons why engineers leave the STEM fields prematurely, in frustration for lack of upward mobility or being given opportunities and leadership visibility.

I get it. I experienced it. Many of my peers did. Many of my clients too before they learned how to turn the tide and gain the competitive advantage of communication skills.

Engineers and other STEM professionals get stuck in their career not because they aren’t brilliant or lack innovation or ideas.

But because their stakeholders don’t understand or relate to them and are often not able to mentor or coach them through their blind spots.

The Durable Skills that Transform an Engineer’s Career

I could list so many, but here are the top ones that are not only completely teachable as a skill, but can result in massive shifts in how our engineers are perceived and rewarded at work:

• Showing up at work with confidence
• Using their voice effectively
• Communicating clearly and coherently
• Speaking up in meetings
• Facilitating a meeting on their own
• Asking for help (so that they are set up for success)
• Advocating for an idea (especially if different from the group)
• Addressing tensions before they turn into conflict
• Pushing back on a no without alienating
• Setting healthy boundaries

Most engineers are average at best in these areas, dismissing them as ‘personality traits’, whereas they are in fact learnable skills and powerful tools in their everyday workplace scenarios.

And so many engineers remain silent or hide behind their computers when the situation requires a powerful conversation.

Remaining quiet in meetings or other situations may feel safe and easy but make no mistake, you take a risk that leads to reduced visibility, lower advocacy for your value, and slower growth in your career.

Waiting for your hard work to speak for itself – a false idea that should’ve never spread – will put you behind on your promotions and raises.

It is crucial to learn and apply these durable skills in industry if you want to see the results of your value and contribution and enjoy a fulfilling career.

Work with Me to Learn These Durable Skills

My mission is to elevate the whole engineer is 2-fold:

1. Workshops at universities to engineering students:
So far, we have worked with 15 top engineering programs at universities all over the US including Duke, Johns Hopkins, NC State, Cornell, James Madison, Wake Forest, University of Hawaii, Northwestern and many others. My engineer husband and partner, Andy and I go into engineering schools and deliver targeted sessions that help students a series of durable skills that are immediately noticeable. We have also co-authored an ASEE publication on The Whole Engineer.

2. Private Coaching with Engineers and STEM professionals in the workplace
I have coached over a hundred engineers from level 1 all the way to technical leaders and experts in their field on communication and leadership skills.

FACT: Analytical and technical skills are foundational for an engineer but as industry has pointed out, wholly insufficient on their own for a successful STEM career trajectory.

Our mission is this:

To equip technically strong engineering students or engineers with the communication tools they need to succeed in collaborative, fast-paced professional environments.

If you are an engineering faculty member, department head, or program director and would like to bring these communication and leadership workshops to your school, schedule a call with us.

If you are an engineer or software developer or another STEM/IT professional in the corporate world, looking to grow your career by elevating these skills, send us a coaching consult request.

Get in touch. We’d love to help you on this journey.
With love from Team Brock.

Dear Reader, Hi! It is November 2023, some four years since my last blog post, and I wanted to update you. What am I focusing on? (A few new things!) Am I still coaching (Oh Yes!)? Where can you find me (FarnooshBrock.com and LinkedIn and Insta) What can I help you (individually) or your teams and leadership with? Read on.

Yes, I am still very much a full-time entrepreneur. May 2024 will mark 13 years of being CEO & President of our company.

Since May 2011 when I quit my corporate job, and Dec 2012 when I made my husband do the same, we’ve never looked back, never taken a single job and never regretted the big decision that changed our lives. Every day, I wake up and I know this was 100% the right decision for me, and the ONLY decision I can live with. That full story is here.

What really matters in the story of ‘quit my job and started my business’ is longevity. Quitting is easy enough. Walking away is a matter of reaching a tipping point, and we all have that. It is staying the course of self-employment month after month and year after year that counts. Almost 9 out of 10 of my entrepreneurial friends have returned to jobs that they’re now trying to get out of!

There is no right or wrong; there is only figuring out what works for you. What do you want? What kind of life do you need? How do you build it and sustain it? And when will you make it happen?

No More Blogging. A lot more content delivery in training & coaching programs.

Yes, I quit blogging in 2018, and posted my last entry here in 2019. I still publish Thought Leadership posts on my LinkedIn.

When the demand for speaking and training picked up, I had to adapt. Quickly. So my focus shifted from personal growth and self-improvement to becoming an even more active Speaker, Trainer and Presenter on my areas of expertise: Communications, Leadership, Mindset, and Emotional Intelligence.

Where do I do my work? At corporations, associations as well as a lot of universities. These topics have been my strength since my corporate days and now are a driving passion. I’ve helped hundreds of professionals over the years to master these skills in their careers and to realize how valuable it is to actually communicate and build trust rather than to avoid situations.

Now, I am focused on 3 Main Missions:

1. Delivering workshops at STEM programs, particularly in engineering and bring best lessons learned as an Electrical Engineer, Corporate Professional and Entrepreneur. See more.

2. Training at companies for leaders and teams. See more.

3. Coaching 1:1 for high-performers, driven professionals, leaders, engineers, and anyone who sees the values of developing their crucial skills on Communication, Leadership, Mindset and Emotional Intelligence. See more.

In my personal life, I’m thriving – happy, healthy and joyful. We survived the crazy pandemic. Still happily married to Andy for 22 years now. Yoga and handstand practices plus daily Intermittent Fasting, strength building and exercise are my foundations. I’ve lost stubborn fat and become super fit, thanks to fasting for 3+ years. I document my Lessons Learned & Journey on Instagram.

I am still loving Career and Leadership Coaching and I have SO MUCH more to offer you now!

Want me empower you to achieve your goals? The time is now, not later. You need the right guidance, strategies, implementation and accountability and you get all of that is in my coaching.

My coaches, masterminds, certification and training programs changed my trajectory. The results have created so much abundance. The Return on Investments in those decisions has come through multi-fold. It is always easier, faster, cheaper to achieve your Career and Business Goals with help than on your own.

Great leaders, great bosses, great individual performers and great business owners all have and have had multiple coaches, zero exceptions.

My best resource for a self-paced career advancement is still my course: Crack the Code to Get Promoted This course continues to help stuck professionals. It will teach you how to navigate the complex corporate eco-system, how to fix problems with your boss, how to get that overdue promotion and raise, how to get out of your victim mindset and make things happen for yourself. It is a tiny investment with huge rewards.

Want more? Invest in a coach. In other words: Invest in YOU!

Want to work with me? Let’s talk. On the new coaching page, read my new offers and book a consult at the bottom of the page.

Right now, I specialize on empowering STEM professionals, engineers and visionary leaders. In the past, I’ve worked with professionals in every walk of life including many entrepreneurs and business owners. Interested to learn more? Book a consult and let’s talk and see if we are a good fit to help you accelerate your goals:

Sending you so much encouragement, love, and a reminder that you can live a life of purpose, joy and fulfillment and achieve your health & wealth goals.