Engineering excellence is often defined by high quality and technical precision, but a thriving engineering business or organization is first and foremost built on the embraced strengths of its people. While “hard” technical skills get products off the drawing board, “essential” leadership skills (commonly mistaken as “soft” skills) determines whether an organization scales or stagnates. This presentation explores the essential interpersonal competencies required to transform a group of uniquely talented individual contributors into a high-performing, cohesive organization.