Engineering and Leadership Podcast

Pat Sweet spent 13 years leading engineers through complex systems integration projects in the rail and defense industries before launching The Engineering and Leadership Project, and that operational background gives the podcast a grounded, practical quality that purely academic leadership shows often lack. Sweet holds a bachelor of engineering from Dalhousie University and an MBA from the Royal Military College of Canada, and he carries professional credentials as a P.Eng, PMP, and Certified Systems Engineering Professional. The podcast focuses on the specific leadership challenges that engineers face when they move into management: running engineering teams, managing complex projects, developing technical talent, handling stakeholder relationships, and building the productivity habits that keep large programs on track. Sweet has worked as a product manager, project manager, systems engineering manager, and head of configuration management at a naval combat systems integrator, so when he discusses leadership principles, they come from actual engineering program experience rather than generic business theory. Episodes feature a mix of solo commentary where Sweet breaks down a management concept and interviews with engineering leaders, project managers, and organizational consultants. The conversations cover topics like systems thinking, team motivation, decision-making under uncertainty, and the transition from individual contributor to engineering manager. Episodes run about 20 to 40 minutes and the tone is direct and no-nonsense. The companion blog at engineeringandleadership.com extends many episode topics with written articles and resources.