This June, RPIE is featuring workshops led by four past RPIE participants. In this Q&A, Eric Bonego, Construction Project Manager, discusses his workshops on Leadership, how his past experience influenced his perspective on Leadership, and why Leadership matters today. 

What is leadership to you? 

There is management and leadership: management is something you learn, leadership is something you build with time. Leadership is how you inspire others, how you shape your vision, and how you guide an organization over time.

How would you define your leadership style? 

In 2016, I worked as a site engineer while assisting the Project Manager. In this project, the challenge was in working with different stakeholders from different countries, with different backgrounds, who spoke different languages. It was difficult to navigate. We had to learn how to communicate and to bring everyone together.

As a site engineer, I had to understand the roles in the project while figuring out a mode of communication and all the while bringing the teams together to do the work. Learning to develop that communication style, understanding the team, setting team goals: that was the beginning of developing my leadership style. 

What’s a strategy essential to leadership?

I would say communication: getting to know everyone on your team, connecting one-on-one with them. We know that we’re all here to work on the same project, and we’re all working towards a shared objective. Building a connection on a one-on-one basis really helped me. Every day, I was on the job site working with my team, so they understand that I know what they’re going through and what their work is. Understanding every aspect of the project also matters. I went through the plans at night to grasp all the information I could, which gave me authority at the meeting. Since I knew what I was talking about, I could focus on communicating more clearly.

What’s one way to represent leadership experience on a resume? 

Know your story. Behind every leader, there is a story. What is yours? Ask yourself: how have you solved problems? What was your approach? How did you deal with them? Knowing the how is very important. No matter what you do, there is a degree of leadership in it. Being able to share those examples is helpful.

On a resume, using keywords is very important—communication and teamwork. Leaders are all about teams, goals, and the vision of the project. That’s very important in your portfolio.

What does Inclusive Leadership mean to you? 

When you are working on a project, it’s very important to make sure that everyone understands and shares the same vision. No matter your differences, no matter the cultural backgrounds or beliefs, being able to have everyone’s input and energy–that’s what inclusive leadership is. It builds upon the team and then allows you to move forward. 

Eric will lead two workshops in the June Professional Development Sequence: Developing a Leadership Strategy (Saturday, June 17th from 1:00-3:00 pm) and Inclusive Leadership (Saturday, June 24th from 1:00-3:00 pm).

About Eric: Eric Bonego is a Construction Project Manager with over five years of professional experience, including two years of project management in New York City. His commitment to the construction industry and his ability to solve complex problems through innovative thinking are just some of the attributes that distinguish him. Holding a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the prestigious College of Public Works of Ouagadougou, Eric furthered his education at The Cooper Union through the RPIE where he completed project management classes and attained multiple certifications. In his career, Eric has managed a variety of construction projects involving residential, commercial, and industrial structures. His experience ranges from field engineering in Burkina Faso to managing tech product development for the construction industry in New York City. Currently, he serves as a Project Manager at cRIDE Inc. and Vincon Enterprises, simultaneously overseeing tech product development and construction projects. Eric's accomplishments include overseeing the development and improvement of the cRIDE app designed to solve a transportation problem for the construction industry.