Dr. Peter Zieve is the founder of Electroimpact in Mukilteo, Washington. It is a world-leading manufacturer of automation assembly systems that serve big names in the aerospace sector such as Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, and more.
He built his company after finishing his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington in1986.
In the beginning, he opened Electroimpact to make the Low Voltage Electromagnetic Riveting technology available in the market. This innovation is the result of his doctoral research.
Furthermore, he wanted to create an ‘engineers’ company’ which will give them better control over projects that they handle from start to finish.
Now, at Electroimpact, Dr. Peter has been leading a team of 600 employees who work together to create world-class automation and tooling solutions for their clients.
Given the freedom to make decisions in their projects, he believes that their engineers will be more engaged and motivated.
This results in an environment where the company’s engineers think outside of the box, come up with innovative ideas and continuously work towards improving their workflow and materials handling systems for clients’ desirable outcomes.
Peter Zieve on How Leaders Can Encourage Innovation among Team Members
In order for a business to thrive, it is important for its leaders to show encouragement among its employees.
There are several ways to do this and one of which is providing a supportive work environment for your team. One can accomplish this task by doing what Dr. Peter Zieve does as the CEO of Electroimpact.
As a leader who oversees 400 engineers out of 600 employees, he wants each of them to feel involved in their projects. “I believe that employees will be more committed and engaged if they are given the chance to make decisions in projects that they work on. Thus, I allow our engineers to take ownership of their tasks.”
Furthermore, Dr. Peter also recognizes the importance of empowerment in the creation of impactful outputs. According to him, “We empower engineers with decision-making abilities. But above all, we challenge them to think about the direction wherein our company is moving towards.”
He strongly believes that autonomy makes employees feel a sense of pride in their achievements. As a result, there is continuous innovation because each one will strive to come up with new ideas that they can contribute.
Another way to encourage innovative thinking is to recognize employees’ achievements.
Dr. Peter says, “We make it a point to acknowledge the efforts and results of everyone in our company. We do this by rewarding employees for their great performance and giving them opportunities for personal and professional growth.”
Another thing that he stressed is that each person should have clarity about their roles, responsibilities, and what they are supposed to achieve. For this reason, he encourages his team to express their ideas freely.
“I value employees’ opinions because I believe that it is these inputs that make Electroimpact grow as a company.”
Lastly, Dr. Peter acknowledges the importance of transparency in the workplace, saying that it avoids miscommunication and allows employees to have a better understanding of each other. In addition, he said that transparency gives them the space to come up with ideas that will contribute to the growth of their company.
“At Electroimpact, we have 400 engineers who work on different projects for our clients. We allow them to think outside of the box and focus on what they are best at. They are the ones who consult with clients, make decisions and handle negotiations until the turnover of equipment.”
It appears that this method of empowering engineers has paid off because Electroimpact was able to grow into a world-class company that continues to provide excellence in automation services for its clients.
“Our goal is to consistently progress as a company that uses the most advanced technology to provide the best automation systems for our clients. To do this, I encourage our engineers to think outside of the box and push their limits.”
Interviews and PR by Matt Peters.
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