Diverse Cultural Perspectives

Skills: Leadership and employee management; project management; technology and risk assessment;
financial modeling; budgeting; working knowledge of power systems and components; photovoltaic
systems design; contract review and negotiation; working knowledge of regulations; and construction
monitoring
Diverse Cultural Perspectives: Although he would not think of himself as privileged, Sean has
progressed in his education and career by identifying goals and working hard until he achieved them. He
attributes all of his success to his work ethic. Sean finds common ground with people most easily when
they share his interests in science, math, and a functional design.
Characteristics: Analytical; creative; interested in mechanical and technical projects; performs well in
technology-focused leadership roles; highly process-oriented; strong verbal and graphical
communication skills; data-driven; and a scientific approach to decision making
Behaviors: Sean meets annual project requirements on time and budget. He and his team act
autonomously and with minimal oversight in the field. He requests access to research findings, thorough
documentation, and other evidence of efficacy before adopting a new product or process. He speaks
candidly when he sees reason for concern. Because his work requires him to spend a lot of time
managing a team in the field, he prefers brief, tactical phone calls instead of extended, strategy
meetings.
Background: Sean has been a lead power systems engineer for 6 years. Before that, he spent 10 years as
a systems engineer for a major utility company in the western United States, where he managed a large
team of technicians. Prior to that, he was a respected research scientist at a large state institution. The
other power systems engineers at SolarComm elected Sean to speak for them and defer to Sean if asked
for more participation. They provided Sean with a year of records showing that a dozen essential
components arrived behind schedule. Records also showed that four major components were not
manufactured to specification. Many of the Engineers told Sean that SolarComm’s problems originated
from poorly negotiated procurement agreements that do not penalize the manufacturer when problems
occur.