Leadership Questions
Eugene Velasquez, Maintenance Engineer
2026-02-04
Eugene recently joined the maintenance department, but he’s had a storied and various career. The number of jobs/roles he’s served in across different industries and locations is an invaluable to have direct access to at this early stage in my career.
I wanted to send him a list of different questions after talking with him during his welcome lunch. I’ve added his responses to each.
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EV,
Here’s the first round of questions I’d love to pick your brain about.
We can always sit down and discuss in person if you’d rather riff.
What’s been one of the biggest failures/problems you had in your career you learned a lot from (that you’re willing to share)?
I was told once in your career never go backwards always move forward, there maybe times when you must move left or right but never go backwards. I went backwards once and I will never catch up to where I would have been if I hadn’t done that. So, to you never move backwards, maybe go left or right but always go forward, no matter what “they” offer you, no matter how “close” you are to the person trying to sale you on something, never go backwards.
Is there a specific situation where you went about dealing with union folks wrong and got burned? Any specifics you’re willing to share would be greatly appreciated.
There was one time in a meeting with union leadership that I kinda lost my temper, fortunately I had a really good HR representative in the meeting with me and she was in my corner and pulled me down a little. One thing people, especially those that push buttons for a living, know how to do is to push buttons on people and it nearly got me in a lot of trouble. If not for HR being there and we being on the same team, it could’ve gotten really sideways for me. The point here is having people in your corner is a must especially in though situations. Always document everything, this will never not be true.
When you are in a meeting or seeking input from your team (as a leader), what has been the best way to get honesty/candor from your team?
This is something that you start from the beginning, always be honest with them and they will usually always be honest with you. Also, I like to let my team talk first, I don’t want to influence them with my way of thinking. So I will go around the room get updates from everyone, ask leading questions on what they are working on and then finish up with anything that as a group we need to talk about.
What level of the org do you feel the most power to change the “culture” in a positive way? (From your own experiences and/or from your perspective)
This is a good question, I think its your front-line leaders, they set the tone for their workforce. Good/bad front-line leaders tend to shape their group in their image. Terri is a good front line leader, take after her.
How do you manage the people/relationships who don’t report to you?
In general most people are focused on what’s in it for them, why is this important to them. Understand what that means to them and you can generally get them to do circles. Don’t think of this as any kind of manipulation, just that you are looking for that win/win. How can you both profit. If you haven’t already read the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”
How do you build self-ownership in others/individuals? Not delegating work but them taking on their projects and driving them the best way they can
This is the job of a leader/supervisor this is where you have to know your people. You do this by building relationships with them, find out about them away from work, be interested in them as people not just employee numbers. Once you establish this, and it takes time, bend over backwards to do for them and in turn they will do the same for you, even the uncomfortable, non-fun things, working overtime un-paid, but when their kids birthdays come up and its their time to work the weekend, you take the shift so they can be with their family.
How do you view your own leadership of your team (good/bad/effective?) What’s your approach to it?
I think it can be effective but I have to always be mindful of those that may try to take advantage, but this is usually easy to see, there is a job that needs to be done and if its not getting done then
How do you define your leadership style, and how has it evolved?
I can be hands off with my people, my expectation is that they do the best they can at their job, for the most part have all been professionals. For union and non-professional hourly, I tend to be a little more hands on, ensuring I know what they are supposed to be doing and even putting some tools in place to track productivity. Its been interesting in that I have had some professionals not happy with my style, one engineer actually left the company because of it. I was told later by HR that’s what he wrote as his main purpose for leaving was that I was to hands off for his liking.
How do you think about the culture/atmosphere around you/your team? What do you try to do about fostering it?
Knowing your people and whats going on between them and outside your work is key, once you have their trust you can get them to go in any direction. You have to build and keep the trust, once that fails or is broken it is very difficult to get it back.
How do you communicate your vision/goals effectively
This is a good general template for all discussions; tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. But you need to make sure your message is clear, get a second opinion.
What has been the hardest “leadership skill” for you to develop in yourself? How did you go about it?
Leadership Skills: 7 Fundamental Skills & How to Develop Them | AMA
I would say from this list critical thinking because I can sometimes tend to make quick decisions and move forward but this came as a consequence of me working in maintenance because we are always fighting fires to get things done on the highest of priorities. Within the project world you have more time to think critically about what you are doing, so seek out and make sure you expose yourself to may different types of experiences and career opportunities. I don’t think this will be a problem for you.
How do you think/go about developing folks reporting to you?
As much as a “pita” the mid-year and end of the year evaluations are, these can definitely help build the framework for that.
Is there a historic figure you wish you could meet/talk to?
Someday I will speak with Jesus
What is a talent you admire in other individuals? (in work/outside of work, maybe specific examples)
Hitting a driver straight every time, same for pitching out of a bunker, that’s where I am now.
Who do you look to as a great leader (inside or outside of CPC)? What about them do you admire/want to imitate? Is there a mentor you really grew under?
Art of the deal, Trump, its fascinating to watch in action. If I could imitate that I would but I am not in business in that way, I find win and influence a better approach. My first boss right out of school, I tend to lead a lot like he does, but it works for me. You will need to find what works for you.
How do you balance giving big projects to established people vs training/growing individuals? Keeping from playing favorites but also ensuring work gets done
Fortunately, the teams I’ve had have always had their areas of responsibility so it was just a matter of time before everyone got a chance to see what they can do on large scale projects relatively speaking. Much like we have established here. But if I were to hypothetically think about it, I would use a shadowing approach put the inexperienced shadowing the more experienced and then set them up to the be the experienced the next go around. Depending on frequency.
What is your strategy/methodology for task or projects management?
I like the Pareto rule, hard part is figuring out which 20%, that’s highly dependent on the situation.
What is your template for long-range vision/strategy planning?
Step out a plan, stay consistent to that plan and work your ass off.
How do you approach and handle difficult conversations with a team member?
How do you balance the “we need to save money, find inefficiencies, etc.” with finding opportunities that improve/expand? Not tripping over dollars to pick up pennies
More selfish/personal questions:
What do you see as my growth opportunities? What can I do to improve blind spots and move from a good engineer to great engineer?
Where are my strengths?
How can I make good changes at my level without upsetting the apple cart?
How to influence without “authority”’
What’s something you wish someone had told you when you were at my career stage?
Any book recs or podcast suggestions? What’s something you’ve read you’d recommend (could be work or entertainment)
How can I go about improving my own self-awareness?
From conversations with close friends, this is one of the best skills we all independently honed and one of the reasons we clicked and are successful. Curious who to improve that in myself or help others in being more aware.
end of convo————