[BC] Re: Engineering and what it used to be

[Xmitters@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/31/05 7:50:11 PM Central Daylight Time, 
broadcast-request at radiolists.net writes:

<<  There's a winning attitude. There is no doubt that engineers today 
 are much busier than 20 years ago. At the same time, if you have an 
 engineer who sits back by the furnace and all he can talk about is 
 nanowebers per heating degree day, he deserves to stay there. >>

Quite true. I believe that today's engineer requires 70% people skills in 
his/her skillset. I make every effort to get my staff involved in any studio 
operational changes. When I tell them that "I need your help with something" they 
look shocked and tell me that they doubt they could help ME. I simply tell 
them that they are the customer and I'll put the equipment or whatever, wherever 
they need it. "You use it, I just fix it" I tell them. They really get pumped 
up when they discover that they are part of the process.

I also find that giving people an honest and sincere hearing for whatever 
they got on their mind, goes a long way. People are amazingly patient when they 
realize that you take them seriously. I never, ever humiliate anyone when a 
mistake is made. Sometimes they will start ripping on themselves, and I will stop 
them. My dad always used to ask me "what did you learn from this situation?" 
when I did something I thought was stupid. He never once called me stupid. I 
guess I'm carrying on his good will spirit. It really does work

In this day and age, this kind of approach to the job is becoming more and 
more important. Most laymen are not at all impressed or comfortable with someone 
speaking endless technical jargon. First and foremost is being able to relate 
to people on a personal level. It's number one on my list to help people feel 
that I'm approachable. Giving people progress reports on their technical 
complaints pays off big time in good relations between engineering and other 
departments. The payoff for me is never having to fix the john, never having to 
trim the boss's hedges or working 60 hours a week, but getting an outstanding 
performance evaluation.

Being with the university, I also have to relate with other crafts. I find it 
powerful in asking those people about their job and I thank them whenever 
they do things for us. These other crafts now go out of their way when we get 
into a jam. It's because they feel appreciated at my station.

So if any of you feel unappreciated, best course is to make efforts to thank 
people that do things for you, rather than getting sour and allowing yourself 
to develop a bad attitude. Once you get these skills sharpened up, then move 
on to a more professional, nurturing environment.

Jeff Glass, BSEE CSRE
Chief Engineer
WNIU WNIJ