This article is part of a series on engineering leadership at U of T. Over the past couple months, the ILead team interviewed emerging leaders and students in formal leadership roles to get their insights into leadership and experiences with ILead. Check back throughout the summer for more student profiles. #UofTEngineeringLeadership
Personal insight and better relationships. These are not things that we often associate with graduate school, but for Samantha Hinz (MEng Civil Engineering Year 1), they were some of the best surprises of enrolling in ILead courses this year.
For Sam, working on an MASc in Civil Engineering was not a path that she wanted to continue with and an MEng with some ILead courses seemed like the perfect opportunity for a new beginning. Taking advantage of her new course options, Sam enrolled in Leadership and Leading in Groups and Organizations (APS1501) taught by David Colcleugh as well as both of Robin Sacks’ courses, Cognitive and Psychological Foundations of Effective Leadership (APS1010), and The Happy Engineer – Positive Psychology for Engineers (APS1026).
Although she made her course selections based on what seemed interesting and applicable, the insights she has drawn have been powerful. “Every once in a while, I’ll just stop and recognize that I’m acting in a way that I don’t want to be” says Sam of the real life impact of her course work. It allows “[me] to either correct it or at least figure out why I’m doing it; there has been a lot more self-awareness.” That awareness has not only increased her ability to improve herself, but also her teams. “I was always happy to step up and be in leadership positions, but there was a human aspect that was missing; I had trouble listening to what people were saying.” Having learned through ILead’s courses to “really listen and take interest in people” has made her a better leader.
Although Sam is unsure of her ultimate destination, she has learned a lot about herself by making ILead a part of the journey. Her self-awareness and ability to continue improving has set her up to be ready for whatever challenges come ahead.