Leadership Development in Civil Engineering

Perceptions of Leadership Preparedness in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

Leadership responsibilities are increasingly placed upon engineers, yet they are often ill-prepared for these pivotal roles. Based on a recent study on conducted in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), this paper investigates the perceptions of engineers and leaders in civil engineering, specifically focusing on leadership preparedness and the consequential implications on leadership and management training. Responses were gathered from 114 engineers and engineering organisations using an online questionnaire. The data underwent comprehensive qualitative (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations) and quantitative analyses (grouping responses into categories and themes). It was found that: (i) a majority of participants perceived themselves to be only moderately prepared for leadership roles, either at the onset or during their current leadership tenure; (ii) the overwhelming consensus among participants highlighted the paramount importance of leadership training for engineers; (iii) participants expressed a strong inclination toward embedding leadership training within current engineering courses; and (iv) the majority of respondents conveyed optimism about the positive implications of increasing leadership and management training methods for engineers. These findings have implications for advancements in academia and industry, including organisations and professional engineering societies, to refine existing approaches to leadership preparation. The paper underlines the need for a more adept and influential cadre of civil engineering leaders by advocating for integrating leadership preparedness into higher education and professional development in T&T.