Collaborative leadership is often overlooked in our industry, but it plays a crucial role in our everyday workflows. As leaders, sometimes we can get caught up in projects and deadlines and forget to see the big picture. However, leading through collaboration is an important tool that impacts our teams and, subsequently, the communities where we complete our projects.
Attitude of Servitude
Some of the best leaders have an attitude of servitude, understanding their job is bigger than themselves. This idea is not limited to serving their peers in their office, but also serving their clients and communities. The projects we undertake in transportation have a huge impact on our peers. They help them arrive to work in the morning and come home at night. They enhance safety to protect our peers and the people most important to them. It is crucial that we keep our eyes on these ideas because they are at the heart of what we do every day.
These leaders also strive to uplift the voices on their team. They know that their responsibility is to deliver the best solutions to their clients—even if those solutions come from others’ ideas. Sometimes great ideas come from an industry veteran and sometimes they come from a young professional who is asking the right questions. A great leader recognizes this fact.
Leading through collaboration is an important tool that impacts our teams and, subsequently, the communities where we complete our projects.”
Victoria Guobaitis
Professional Development Opportunities
My role as a leader has progressed organically with years of experience, but it has also grown as a result of my involvement with different professional organizations. I’ve had the opportunity to take part in leadership development programs with the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).
With WTS, I participated in a mentor and protégé program where I acted as the mentor. This was a valuable experience as I was able to gain a very close perspective of a colleague in the transportation industry. My protégé and I talked about topics surrounding being a woman in the AEC industry, including work-life balance and leadership development in a male-dominated field. The insight I gained in this helped to develop my leadership skills, interpersonal communication skills, and led to new friendships as well.
In the ACEC Future Leaders program I learned ways to succeed as a leader in the transportation industry. I graduated after nine months of leadership programming with ACEC.
My experience with ACEC was slightly different, as it offered me perspectives beyond women in transportation. I participated in the Georgia Future Leaders Class of 2022-2023. This group includes men and women from all different areas of the AEC industry. We met once a month for nine months to learn different ways to succeed as leaders, with topics like public speaking and invoicing best practices. This was beneficial as it helped me create a network of individuals who bring different expertise and experience with them; these different perspectives challenge me to think about my work in new ways.
Experiences like these help me strengthen my skills, remind me of the importance of gaining new perspectives, and, ultimately, make me better at my job. A collaborative leader has a positive ripple effect on each project they are a part of. As a leader in my professional environment, I strive to have a similar impact to create benefits for my clients and the communities they support.