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Is engineering really a meritocracy?

We’re taught that hard work, strong performance, and clear metrics determine who advances. But what if the system isn’t as objective as it seems?

In this episode of ENGINEERING CH∆NGE®, I break down how “merit” is often interpreted, or even manufactured, not measured and how the systems we trust to evaluate performance can actully distort it.

In this episode:

• Why performance without context is incomplete and often misinterpreted.
• How shifting standards and uneven scrutiny reshape who advances.
• What happens when metrics become targets and start driving behavior instead of reflecting impact.

Through real-world examples - from internship decisions to NSF review panels - this episode reveals how evaluation systems can manufacture merit instead of measure it.

If you’ve ever questioned how decisions really get made in academia, engineering, or leadership, this conversation will change how you see performance, potential, and fairness.

Ask yourself:
Are we rewarding true impact, or just what’s easiest to measure?

Grab a latte and listen.

If this conversation resonates with you, follow ENGINEERING CH∆NGE® and leave a five-star review to help more engineers and leaders join the conversation.

Visit the ENGINEERING CH∆NGE® podcast website to learn more and to request a free copy of my new brief, Engineering for Society.

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ENGINEERING CHΔNGE® is a registered trademark held by Dr. Yvette E. Pearson for producing and providing podcasts.

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Engineering outcomes don’t happen in isolation—and understanding how engineering systems and organizational systems shape those outcomes is critical for effective engineering leadership.

In this episode of ENGINEERING CH∆NGE®, I challenge one of the most persistent, misleading and, quite frankly, aggravating phrases in engineering: “soft skills.”

There is nothing soft about teamwork, communication, and other people-centered professional competencies that determine whether engineering work succeeds.

Using a systems lens, this episode examines how engineering outcomes are produced through interactions among people, across roles, and between organizations and the communities they serve. It also explores how narrow definitions of merit obscure the very contributions that hold teams, projects, and systems together. (More to come on this in Episode 32).

Through real-world examples and personal reflection, I make the case for eliminating the term “soft skills” altogether and replacing it with a more accurate understanding of what engineering work actually requires, and thus, what our organizations should recognize and value.

In this episode:

• Why the term “soft skills” fails to describe critical engineering capabilities
• How people, relationships, and context shape engineering outcomes
• What traditional definitions of merit overlook
• Why expanding what we value strengthens engineering systems

If this conversation resonates with you, follow ENGINEERING CH∆NGE® and leave a five-star review to help more engineers and leaders join the conversation.

Visit the ENGINEERING CH∆NGE® podcast website to learn more and to request a free copy of my new brief, Engineering for Society.

Support the show

ENGINEERING CHΔNGE® is a registered trademark held by Dr. Yvette E. Pearson for producing and providing podcasts.

Send us Fan Mail

What happens to engineering systems when fear shapes the conditions under which people work, or are allowed to work?

In this episode of ENGINEERING CH∆NGE®, I examine how fear-driven decisions inside organizational systems can reshape their capacity to produce research, education, and societal outcomes, and not for the better.

Drawing from lived experience and patterns emerging across institutions, this conversation explores how organizational systems lose capacity, expertise, and knowledge when silence replaces truth and optics replace accuracy.

This episode invites listeners to reflect on the often invisible organizational inputs that shape engineering outcomes and what leaders must be willing to see if our systems are to serve society effectively.

In this episode:

• How fear reshapes organizational decision-making
• What happens when systems lose people, knowledge, and capacity
• Why engineering outcomes depend on organizational conditions
• A “System Check” reflection for leaders responsible for engineering and research outcomes

If this conversation resonates with you, follow ENGINEERING CH∆NGE® and leave a five-star review to help more engineers and leaders join the conversation.

Visit the ENGINEERING CH∆NGE® podcast website to learn more and to request a free copy of my new brief, Engineering for Society.

Support the show

ENGINEERING CHΔNGE® is a registered trademark held by Dr. Yvette E. Pearson for producing and providing podcasts.