Article by Jeff Argyros and Louis Gualtieri
Jeff Argyros (YMF treasurer) and Louis Gualtieri (YMF President-Elect) represented ASCE-Pittsburgh at the annual Younger Member Leadership Symposium (YMLS) hosted by The Committee on Younger Members (CYM). This year, YMLS was held at ASCE Headquarters in Reston, VA from September 19th through September 21st. YMLS educates ASCE younger members from across the country on how to develop and utilize leadership skills at a professional and personal level. Additionally, younger members network with civil engineers from different regions of the country, giving our representatives an opportunity to promote the upcoming ERYMC in Pittsburgh this February.
An important lesson that was learned at the YMLS was that a leader must understand the personalities of those with whom he or she works. In order to understand the personality of those around you, you must first understand your own personality traits. Take the survey at this link to get an idea of your Myers-Briggs personality classification.
Once you understand your own personality and become knowledgeable of the personalities of those around you at work, progress will ensue. You will understand how you approach different coworkers with problems and also how and when to congratulate them when they do a good job. But remember, a leader does not always have to be a manager, and a manager does not always have to be a leader.
Other topics discussed at the YMLS were how to be a leader, how to work as a team, how to utilize effective presentation and public speaking skills and healing “sick” projects that young engineers may encounter/inherit as the advance in their careers.
YMLS is a two-day event held every year at the ASCE Headquarters in Reston, VA. You can read about last year’s event here.
