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What leadership traits have served you well?
And on the flip side, what have you learned that tends to hold women leaders back?

In the beginning of my career, I underestimated the value of effective communication. Unfortunately, communication was not taught in the engineering program. And as time went on, I quickly started seeing the value in communicating, not only to clients but internally to the team. At one point we asked what clients valued most, either accurate design plans or a project manager who effectively communicates. Every single client picked the latter. As a result, I studied and mimicked the best leaders and communicators.  In drawing my own conclusions, everybody communicates differently, and the best leaders adapt to each person as well as be a great listener, thus providing significantly better results and happier employees and clients. All practices which I try to implement within the 7 Oaks Engineering company culture.

What are the greatest challenges women in leadership experience?
Are more challenges external or internal?

My leadership experience always challenges me to grow and continue to evolve. But with that said, I would say the greatest challenge as a woman in the industry our natural eagerness to satisfy, contribute and be meaningful to each and every person that we interact with. Historically, women have worn many hats in both their professional and personal lives, and its one of our greatest strengths to multitask and perform well under pressure. However, this can also be one of our greatest challenges. Over the years I have seen women struggle with finding their voice in the construction industry and we have lost a lot of good women to other professions because of this.

What valuable career lesson or lessons would you like to share with others?

We never stop learning in our industry and as such I am always learning new valuable career lessons. But the most important piece of advice I would give a young civil engineer, is to have tenacity, strength, and perseverance. There will be more times than you can count that your back will be against the wall but know it doesn’t stay that way forever.

Mentorship is so important to women in the workforce these days.
Do you mentor other women through a specific program?
Or did you have a mentor that was inspirational to you?

A good mentorship can be the marker of a successful career, and thankfully I had an amazing mentor. I’ve also seen firsthand the challenge the industry faces with loosing young women engineers, which equates to the lack of good mentorship. Unfortunately, it’s very common for project managers or industry leaders to be consumed with their own jobs, deadlines, etc., and it can be extremely difficult for senior level engineers to devote the time needed to mentor the young professionals. The industry can have a ‘sink or swim’ mentality which can be hard to overcome for many and we’ve lost a lot of good engineers as a result.

As such, 7 Oaks Engineering is actively seeking young women graduates in civil engineering, with the objective of providing a positive and engaging space for the next generation! Mentorship is required to ensure the survival of the industry.