Episode Transcript
You love your job. Things in your engineering corner of the organization are running smoothly, thanks to you.
You know what needs to get accomplished in your space. And you take charge of making that happen.
You know your role and you do it very well.
What you might be lacking though is a better grasp of the big picture.
What it Means for Engineers to Grasp the Big Picture
To have a grasp of the bigger picture means widening your perspective. It means taking the viewpoint of the overall organization, or industry.
It means being open – beyond your specific job – to the broader organization’s mission and goals. Strategy and customers.
Sometimes even beyond the local level to regional, national and world events.
And it means, with that view, having the ability to think more holistically.
The bigger picture to you may seem like someone else’s job. It’s overwhelming and out of your scope.
You feel better keeping things simple and just focusing on your own work and responsibilities.
After all, the big picture is not a requirement for doing your current job.
There were times in my career when I didn’t have the luxury of time to focus on the big picture. I’m a busy working mom, I thought. I don’t have time for this.
But here’s the thing. You need to develop a grasp of the big picture to get ahead in your career.
The Importance of the Big Picture View in Your Engineering Career
As a minimum the big picture view allows you to see how your work fits. What value your work has for the organization.
Further, it’s an important perspective for you to have as you move into leadership. And it’s an enabler for you to take on higher level leadership positions.
But more than that, a big picture perspective makes your job and career more meaningful. It allows you to have more impact. To make a difference in a bigger way.
If you’re a person who’s big picture savvy, you’re more resilient and agile. You’re better able to handle change. And deal with unforeseen circumstances.
This is because you’re not lost in the weeds. You can see the forest for the trees. You can see the higher level meaning of things. And how they fit together in the grand scheme.
Your creativity is enhanced. And you have more strategic foresight.
These are significant benefits for you. And they extend to your organization as well.
As you gain insight from the big picture perspective:
- You’ll want to leverage the big picture in your work.
- You’ll want to present your work in the context of the big picture.
- You’ll want to share the big picture perspective with your team.
And, btw, you’ll be glad to know that developing a grasp of the big picture is not that hard.
How to Develop a Big Picture Perspective in Your Engineering Career
For something this impactful to your career, developing a big picture mindset is not that difficult. And you can do it in a way and at a pace that works for you.
Mainly it’s a matter of paying attention. You can start small and find the resources and approaches that you like.
Watch the future. By that I mean be informed. Read, watch and discuss about events and ideas and research that affect your company, tech area, geographical area, and the world.
Learn to zoom out from your individual work to see the broader impact it’s having. Learn to connect your job to the organizational level.
Create emotional distance between you and the work you’re doing so you can be more objective.
Discover the value of your work in the context of others’ work and the organization overall. And be able to articulate that.
Here are 5 more specific things you can do:
- Know your organization’s mission, goals, and strategies.
This is something you learned when you hired on. You can probably find it on your organization’s website.
But you can also pay attention to what leaders are saying about the direction of the organization.
And notice the subtle changes that happen as a result of the current state of the industry or the economy.
- Learn about other similar organizations, including your partners and competition.
This information is available to you from the news or specific technical, industrial or academic sites, journals and periodicals.
You can also find people within your organization who track this kind of information.
- Invest in yourself via training and coaching.
Professional development training and career or leadership coaching can help you develop your big picture mindset.
You’ll learn how to leverage your particular skills and strengths and apply the big picture in a professional way.
You and I can work on this in a strategy session. Sign up here.
- Ask questions of experts and leaders.
Tap into your network and leverage your mentors to probe their knowledge and insights. With them, you can explore the tougher questions and bigger industry problems.
- Attend relevant professional events.
Find and attend the prominent conferences and symposia most related to your work and technology area.
Make connections among the movers and shakers. And be part of the meaningful conversations so you can learn about current issues and advances.
Once you begin developing a grasp of the big picture you’ll be motivated to continue. So I encourage you to just get started.
Because what you learn helps you in your career. And what you learn entices you to learn more.
You’ll soon realize an increase in your connections and enhancement to your skills.
You’ll see more doors opening for you. And how much more meaningful your engineering work can be.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast we’ll talk about refining your engineering career message to leverage more connections and opportunities. I hope you’ll join me for Episode 121.