Coaching Skills and Practice for Engineering Leaders

Catalog description

This course provides an applied approach to engineering leadership education. Students will develop a deeper understanding of leading engineering teams through applying coaching techniques designed to foster innovative and creative thinking through a nondirective process. Leader-as-coach theory will be explored and applied to teams in pre-requisite Engineering Leadership courses. The course centers on experiential learning by providing a real-world organizational structure of student teams reporting to their leadercoach on project progress. Students previously completing courses in the Engineering Leadership Minor will be assigned as leadercoaches for students currently completing a pre-requisite course. Leader-coaches will apply coaching techniques to positively impact their teams' progress through a semester-long engineering design project. Coaching through the design process, students in the course will gain experience in motivating and supporting engineers in creative and innovative design solutions. Leader-coaches will spend time critiquing technical solutions and apply coaching skills to support the design thinking process. Students will practice giving feedback to individual students based on observed performance. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to describe coaching skills and their application for effective leadership, recognize appropriate coaching skills for use in various situations, implement coaching techniques to foster creativity and innovation through the design thinking process, prepare clear and informative written performance reviews, conduct effective one-on-one performance reviews focused on individual personal development, and build self-awareness of personal leadership strengths and areas for growth. Course assignments require application of the design process, review of technical concepts, and coaching skills and support personal leadership development.