What is a Q2 Leader? A Q2 Leader spends intentional time in Quadrant II of Covey’s Time Management Matrix from the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This is where important, but not urgent, work is done. It’s where we build relationships, discover opportunities, learn, and envision the future.
Who are Q2 Leaders? I had the honor to be a part of an alumni panel at the Tau Beta Pi District 8 Conference on Saturday, April 6, 2019, where the attendees exemplified Q2 Leadership. It was energizing and humbling to be surrounded by so many Q2 Leaders. In the following, I’ll introduce you to some of the Q2 Leaders I met. Perhaps these stories will spark an idea for you to grow as a Q2 Leader.
Q2 Leader: The Mentor
Tau Beta Pi is the national engineering honor society. They hold district conferences where the current and incoming officers of the student chapters for each university create plans for the coming year. As part of the District 8 conference, district leaders invited alumni to participate on an alumni panel. The students can ask any question to the panelists, and the panelists become mentors for the duration of the Q&A. Typical questions involve grad school, careers, and accomplishments.
The panel this year was made up of a wide range of alumni: Darius Ansari (IL Z ’18), a Bioengineering graduate, currently in medical school, Elizabeth Wendt (WI G ’11), a Computer Engineering graduate, David Preissig, P.E. (IA A ’96), a Civil Engineering graduate, Dr. Bohdan “Bo” Bodnar (IL B ’80), an Electrical Engineering graduate, and me (WI B ’91), also an Electrical Engineering graduate.
Each of the panelists took time on a Saturday to travel to the conference and answer questions for the students. We shared our experiences and thoughts on questions ranging from what’s your greatest accomplishment to “should I pick grad school or take a job offer?” to advice for being successful. On the latter question, many of the panelists answered that building relationships was key to being successful. Others added continuous learning and learning to communicate well were also important. Essentially, my fellow panelists were encouraging the students to spend time in Quadrant II, to focus on important but not necessarily urgent items of relationship building, learning, and communicating.
After, one person remarked how respectful all the panelists were of each other. Indeed, I felt respected by the other panelists and I felt respect for them. From Darius’ explanation of his urine collection prototype to make measurements easier and therefore more likely to be done, to Elizabeth’s cool software project featuring easily integrated components, to David’s highway interchange project that he gets to see stand the test of time, to Bo’s impressive collection of stories from his time at Bell Labs and IBM, each of us brought unique value to the discussion. Recognizing that everyone contributes uniquely is a trait of a Q2 Leader.
Q2 Leader: The Coach
After the panel concluded, we all met for a casual dinner. I was seated at a table with a handful of talented students and alumni. At “my end” of the table, one of the students, Mitva Patel (IL Z ’19), asked me about a company in Wisconsin she had just had a phone interview with. I asked her what she wanted to do and she described the open position she interviewed for. Sitting between me and her was the advisor for the Illinois Institute of Technology chapter, Dr. Geoff Williamson (NY D ’83). He followed up with a key coaching question, recognizing there may be more to the story by actively seeking first to understand. His question: “What do you want to do?” Without this question the sequence of events to follow would likely not have occurred, because, as it turns out, the answer differed from the job description Mitva had just had a phone screen for.
Q2 Leader: The Student
Mitva answered Dr. Williamson’s question by stating she was really interested in test engineering. For me, it’s difficult to share what’s really important, what I’m really interested in, especially if it’s not typical. I suppose I wonder what people will think, if they will support me, or if I’ll have to defend myself. So I’m glad that Mitva shared with us what was really getting her attention at the moment. That takes courage and self-awareness, both being characteristics we work on as Q2 Leaders.
Q2 Leader: The Connector
I gave my contact info to Mitva, who sent me her resume and cover letter later that evening. I forwarded her email to a couple of people I know. In this instance I’m the connector, helping Mitva build professional relationships with people in my network. I have had connectors introduce me to amazing people who have enriched my life, and I’m honored to get the chance to do the same for someone else.
Mitva ended up being contacted about a position that aligned with her interests and the field she was interested in. Would this have happened if everyone involved hadn’t decided to do something important by attending the conference, asking questions, sharing goals and interests, being curious, being respectful and open-minded, and wanting to add value without expectation of anything in return?
Q2 Leader: The Host
The district conference was hosted by the student chapter at University of Illinois at Chicago. One of the hosts was Austin Buen-Gharib (IL Z ’19), chapter president. He checked in with me a couple of times. This was very helpful because I knew who to ask when I had a question, and I felt valued as a guest. The main purpose of the conference wasn’t for the alumni, it was for the students, but Austin checked in on the alumni too. Austin was looking for ways to add value, and I’m grateful for it.
Q2 Leader: The Encourager
The president of the Tau Beta Pi Milwaukee Area Alumni Chapter, Aaron Hartwig (WI G ’16), checked in with me to see how the conference went. I told him about the people I met, and my experiences while at the conference. Aaron encouraged me to write a blog post about the district conference. What a great idea! I took it to heart to showcase the Q2 Leaders I met. It’s fantastic to have people around us who encourage us to explore our potential, who believe in us, and who ask us to consider stretching to add value in different ways.
tl;dr
I had the honor of being on an alumni panel at the Tau Beta Pi District 8 Conference where I met incredible Q2 Leaders. It was a rewarding experience to meet talented students with promising futures, and accomplished engineers who volunteered their time and shared their knowledge and experience. The panelists, students, advisors, and district leaders took the time to do what was important although not necessarily urgent. Whether it was teaching, learning, coaching, encouraging, or connecting, everyone at the conference was living in Quadrant II that Saturday.
engineer your life
- Q2 Leaders look for ways to build relationships with others by providing value without expecting anything in return. Is there something you can do for someone and not expect anything in return? An encouraging word, connecting two people who could add value to one another, or volunteering your time to make someone’s world better are just a few ideas.
- Is there a question or a statement you need to be brave to ask or state? Hint: try finding a Q2 Leader to talk to 🙂
note
The letters and numbers after people’s names in this post indicate the Tau Beta Pi chapter they were initiated into, and their graduation year. You can find out more about Tau Beta Pi by visiting their website: https://www.tbp.org/about.cfm