
Find your flaws—and fix them.
Learning how others view you can work to improve your skills, including communication and leadership. As with any skill, being a good engineer requires constant improvement. Engineers need to be able to admit if they are wrong, and if they are not wrong, they still need to consider that they could be wrong, and then prove why they are not wrong. Finding a flaw in your calculation is the difference between a bridge lasting for decades or falling into the water. Remember the Tacoma Narrows Bridge?
A good way to find your flaws is by asking others for constructive criticism. If you are part of a team, try to create a way to get feedback from them. Ask group leaders, and professors for feedback constantly. The more feedback you receive, the more you will learn not to take offense and the easier it will be to hear. As you learn to highly value concrete feedback, you will not only learn how to accept constructive criticism, but also how to give it, and this will make you a very valuable team member.