Who am I?

Erika Albert - Engineering leadership mentor, coach and trainer

Albert Erika

“We are not born as leaders, we become leaders. For some the road is straightforward, for others necessary. For those, who transition to leadership from expert roles, the change can be particularly challenging. It is this process of transitioning, where I help my clients embrace their new role, making sure, that the joy they can find in the new position outweighs the losses of leaving the old function behind. Finding their own, authentic leadership style and voice, is the first step towards becoming a successful leader and a successful person.”

It is important that senior experts and middle managers receive the same attention as their senior colleagues. In many cases, they themselves are faced with considerable decision-making responsibility, although they do not necessarily have the required toolset or competences. Many feel that they do not have the right authority and that they are driving without a licence. By addressing these internal beliefs and developing self-awareness, I help them step into the arena with the self-esteem required to assert themselves (not at any cost…).

Career path

I graduated from Timisoara University of Technology in 2003, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I started my professional career at Siemens VDO (later Continental Automotive), where I spent 5 years as a development engineer and later as a team leader. In 2009 I moved to Budapest, and continued my career at Robert Bosch Kft.

I have gained professional experience as a development engineer, senior development engineer, team- and group leader, laboratory manager and in various other expert roles. During my 12 years here, I experienced many aspects of the profession first handedly. I have discovered my love of coaching and mentoring in my leadership roles. When I realised, that most failure experiences were caused by non-understanding, I became an advocate for self-awareness. Leaving the world of engineering, I am studying to become a psychologist, meanwhile enthusiastically promoting the importance of keeping our psychological needs in sight, especially among the analytical professions.

Professional experience

I have gained over 500 hours of mentoring experience in my nearly 10 years of leadership practice. In the past years I have been working as a career coach in both the for-profit and the pro-bono sector. My main focus is self-awareness based mentor coaching.

My credo: before knowing others, learn to know yourself. You can read more about my worldview on my blog.