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The Secret Engineer
Our anonymous blogger casts his (or her) eye over the day-to-day issues that face engineers in the office and on the shop floor, where she (or he) plies his (or her) trade
Do engineers make good managers?
I remember an occasion, some years ago, when we had to prepare for some important visitors. Everyone had been busy cleaning, painting and tidying up for weeks. The visit was now imminent and there was a final push to make sure everything would be perfect. The Manufacturing Director decided to visit the shop-floor. This was quite a rare event. He wandered about, wiping his finger over surfaces and looking for something amiss. Oddly, he was carrying an apple. After a while he spotted a labourer sweeping up. He marched over to him and said, “Well done, that looks very good.” He then presented him with the apple, turned on his heels and marched back to his office. The labourer was left dumbfounded with the apple, and the rest of us wondered what planet the Director was on.
On another occasion, more recently, a manager asked me to pick him up after he had left his car for a service. I told him I didn’t know where to go, so he instructed me to follow him. He then drove off at speed. I leapt into a pool car and did my best to keep up with him. Not only did he seem to have no consideration for the fact that I was trying to follow him, but through multiple round-abouts and junctions he never indicated once. This seemed to be a perfect metaphor for his management style. No indication of future direction and a lack of consideration for those he was leading.
Now I had a great deal of respect for both of those individuals as engineers, and at face value engineers should make good managers. Usually analytical, good at managing risk, innovative and excellent with figures, engineers possess many attributes required of a manager. So why do so many engineers, like my two examples, seem to struggle?
In my experience, successful managers are good with people. They are usually approachable and get the best out of individuals and teams by being good at listening, giving clear direction and praising good results. They need to be firm but fair and they need to make clear decisions in a timely manner.
Some of these attributes don’t seem to come naturally to engineers, but I think if an engineer can develop good communication skills and the ability to make timely decisions, rather than waiting for additional information, then they can make excellent managers.
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Readers' comments (28)
Stewart Barker | 24 Apr 2012 1:38 pm
I suspect that a lot depends on the definition of "Good Manager" ?
Engineers by their nature are not strong on "empathy", if they were they would probably be HR managers or salesmen.
In Japan Engineers make good and successful managers due to the structure and discipline that is a major part of their society (you don't need empathy if everyone follows the rules).
For many years I struggled trying to keep everyone happy. Now my priorities, in order, as an Engineering Manager are Safety, Compliance, Profitability and lastly "Being Liked".
I've probably failed a lot in the "being liked" part but we've never hurt anyone as a result of a design failure and our business has grown year on year. I'm not sure if that makes me a good or bad manager!
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Ken R | 24 Apr 2012 2:46 pm
Not many engineers make good managers. The personality profile for many engineers is normally not ideal for management. The career path for an engineer in the UK often has a pay ceiling and the only way to obtain more remuneration is to move into management. At this point the engineer has to make a complete break from engineering as being a “Player Manger” is not a recipe for success. Too frequently this transition is undertaken without the “new manger” being given the tools and training to do the job. If we are to be successful in engineering business I think we need to train dedicated Engineers and dedicated Managers, with equitable pay scales at least up to current middle manager level. Again it comes down to the lowly status of engineering in the UK compared with many other countries. We need to stop the need for excellent engineers having to make the transition to mediocre management, purely for financial reasons.
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Anonymous | 25 Apr 2012 2:32 pm
I do not think that non Engineers can be effective at managing in an engineering environment. It is however possible to train an Engineer to manage effectively. There are of course people who are born to lead and these will always be the most effective (providing they have the technical knowledge to back this up). There is one large company that I frequently deal with (unfortunately) that is run by accountants, they are a complete shambles, despite having some very good technical people.
Personally I would put technical abiltiy and Managment abiltiy on the same level of importance.
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David | 26 Apr 2012 1:33 pm
An ideal manager should know and be able to discuss to a degree what is going on in an organization. Good management should not be by "book keepers",but by individuals in the specific field who also have organizational skills
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Alex Wolf | 27 Apr 2012 10:16 pm
I find the question simplistic, the way it is put.
Unless we believe that people who obtained engineering degrees or those who further worked as engineers, are somehow very different than other homo sapiens, wherein could lie the difference in their management predispositions?
And if we put the question: Is engineering know-how and /or talent enough to make an all- around manager, the answer is obvious. It is not. If it were enough, engineers could automatically claim management positions.
As an engineer, former project manager and nowadays a turnaround specialist, I suggest a good take-away from the question that was put would be: In what way is an engineering background helpful in a management position? and What does typically (repeat, typically) a pure engineering background lack in preparing one for a management postion?
Let me offer a hint. I am sure we will all agree that engineers are used to a highly disciplined thinking. Now, are other groups similarily conditioned? What then, if you have to manage such other groups?
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Pradeep Agarwala | 30 Apr 2012 2:00 pm
I firmly believe that if a qualified engineer is sent to a business school for a short stint of Managerial training then he would be one of the finest Managers because of the broad knowledge gained during engineering studies. Grasping power and Understanding increases tremendously during engineering education. I myself am a Graduate Engineer and Business Head of my Own Industry/Enterprise.
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Stuart | 1 May 2012 3:54 pm
'Least an engineer (software) would have got the link to the Croatian Hypercare correct!
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quinetic | 2 May 2012 12:55 pm
A hard question to ponder: Strengths in engineering are not well aligned to strengths in managing and leading people. Good Leaders are few and far between, I've been lucky to have worked for a few and have tried to be like them in managing others. The Google list is a good starting point, if you have 5/8 I'd say you are doing well. Spending time catching up with what your charges are doing and where you can help guide is the most important for me.
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