Building a bridge to a brighter future.
How will the structural engineering profession keep up in a rapidly evolving world?
This question has been on my mind for a long time and was brought to the forefront with my election to the SEI Board of Governors in the fall of 2020 as our profession grappled with the unknown long-term impacts of the pandemic.
How structural engineers work has changed. Compared to when I started my career 20 years ago, the industry is more connected, more collaborative, and less hierarchical. It also requires professionals to lead themselves and their teams earlier in their careers.
Organizations that support our profession must also evolve. I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside structural engineering leaders on SEI’s BOG and experienced the dedication of volunteers serving our industry. That dedication has led the BOG to determine that an SEI Reorganization is needed to best serve members and the profession.
This article, written in collaboration with SEI Board Members, will explain why it’s happening and what it means to you.
Why SEI is Reorganizing
SEI was founded in 1996 under parent organization ASCE. In 2008, the SEI vision statement established four SEI priorities:
- A unique, fully engaged profession with a strong identity
- Recognized for the contribution the professional makes to public safety and risk management, economic and sustainable use of resources, the use of innovative technologies, and the creation of inspiring structures
- Stewards of the built environment
- Attractive to the best and brightest
In 2019, NCSEA, CASE, and SEI collaborated on the Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering, resulting in 10 key initiatives that also align with SEI’s original vision statement.
This fundamental vision has not changed and will be unaffected by the SEI Reorganization. The challenge is that over time, how SEI contributes to this vision has morphed into a long list of activities that may or may not have evolved in direct connection to the original vision.
SEI’s original organizational structure has remained mostly unchanged since its initial establishment 25+ years ago. As is typical with growing organizations, organizational structures must evolve to keep pace with members and industry needs or risk becoming stagnant.
SEI has experienced growing pains. They include excess bureaucracy, communication silos, struggles with resource allocation, slow and unequal pathways to leadership for rising stars depending on where you volunteered within the organization, and a lack of strategic focus due to an overwhelming list of “to-dos” to keep the outdated structure functional.
SEI’s Reorganization is in response to internal and external challenges and opportunities shaping the structural engineering profession.
What are SEI’S Reorganization Goals?
SEI’s Reorganization started with internal conversations and a study completed before my time serving on the BOG. The process also included consultative forums with SEI leaders and gathering input and survey data from members.
SEI’s BOG voted to move forward with developing the transition plans for SEI’s Reorganization in Fall 2022 and is grateful for the leadership of countless volunteers in developing the plans for a brighter future.
Reorganization goals include:
- Increase collaboration and knowledge-sharing throughout SEI by moving from the current five Division structure to a two Community structure.
- Reorganize the SEI BOG from a representative structure to a strategic board structure for long-term operation efficiency.
- Become a more nimble, responsive organization to meet industry and member needs as the pace of change accelerates.
- Focus the efforts and resources of SEI to establish and meet SEI priorities for the profession’s advancement.
- Increase leadership opportunities and pathways to leadership for rising stars.
The new SEI organizational structure will be implemented following new bylaws approval of parent organization ASCE, estimated in October 2023.
New SEI Structure Highlights
Highlights of the new organizational structure include:
The size of SEI’s BOG is reduced. Studies show that large boards struggle with effective decision-making, and this shift is intended to refocus the BOG on being a strategic guiding hand in supporting the vision. A strategic board requires a more collaborative and communicative governance approach which empowers volunteers to execute the vision.
The organizational structure shifts to a two-community structure instead of the current five-division structure. The new structure is intended to break down communication and collaboration silos and reduce the hierarchy and bureaucracy inherent in a more complicated organizational structure.
A focus on collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and leadership pathways for young professionals and rising stars
SEI’s Reorganization comes down to this: better communication and collaboration so that SEI can best address priorities as an organization and better serve the structural engineering profession.
The SEI Reorganization Benefits The Industry
The overarching goal of SEI’s Reorganization is to better serve its members and the structural engineering profession.
The Reorganization allows SEI to be more streamlined and agile, better responding to industry trends and member needs. It enhances leadership opportunities for rising stars and young professionals, contributing to a more dynamic and inclusive profession.
Leading organizations embrace the need to evolve so that they can best support the people that make up our profession. SEI’s Reorganization is how we prepare for a future in which knowledge-sharing, collaboration, strategy, and growth are all prioritized.
You can read more details about the reorganization structure on SEI’s website: https://go.asce.org/3P2wBF7 ■