# Erin Thorp | How to Lead Your Engineering Team with Empathy

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2023-01-06
- Length: 49m
- Episode: 1
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/Erin-Thorp-lead-your-engineering-team/

## Summary

Erin Thorp, a civil engineer turned leadership coach and author of 'Inside Out Empathy', explains how empathy serves as a critical tool for engineering leaders to manage diverse teams and navigate post-pandemic workplace dynamics. She details her transition from a 25-year career in construction project management to full-time coaching, driven by a desire to scale her impact on team engagement and inclusion. Thorp argues that empathy is a learnable skill, not an innate trait, and provides practical strategies for engineers to practice active listening and vulnerability without falling into the trap of trying to 'fix' their colleagues' problems.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=0) Introduction: Erin Thorp and Pipeline Design & Engineering
- [1:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=105) Erin Thorp's Path to Civil Engineering
- [6:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=394) Key Construction Projects: From Internship to Airport Hangar
- [10:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=635) Transitioning from Engineering to Leadership Coaching
- [16:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=996) The Business Case for Empathy in Engineering Teams
- [23:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=1404) Technical vs. Non-Technical Empathy Development
- [27:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=1629) Real-World Examples: Manager Support and Project Success
- [31:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=1862) Post-Pandemic Dynamics and Emotional Regulation
- [33:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=2017) Vulnerability, Listening, and the 'Fixing' Trap
- [37:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=2249) Gender, Masculinity, and Developing Empathy Skills
- [42:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-01-06-erin-thorp-how-to-lead-your-engineering-team-with-empathy#t=2548) Practical Steps: Self-Empathy and Daily Practice

## Topics

- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)
- Inside Out Empathy (other)
- PDX 2026 (other)

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- [This Would Be Funny If It Wasn't Happening to Me: Navigating Manufacturing as a Woman, with Keynote Jody Urquhart](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2025-04-12-this-would-be-funny-if-it-wasnt-happening-to-me-navigating-manufacturing-as-a-wo) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
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## Citing this page

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