Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am a top performing Engineer and I have earned the Staff Engineer title at 36, now I am 38. I was the first ever in the company to have earned this title before 40. In my company this is the highest title and there is no Sr. Staff Engineer title available.
My goal is To become the Engineering Manager in the next 5 years. I am for sure the most innovative and technically competent Engineer in the company. However, the negative feedback I have gotten so far is that I am very quiet and it is true. What can I do in five years to change this perception? How can I work on improving my leadership skills?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,260,275 times
Reputation: 57826
Oddly enough I was able to develop my leadership skills outside of work, by accident. I ended up on the board of a local youth soccer club, eventually becoming president. I also volunteered and ended up in leadership roles at several school-board citizen/parent committees. I was quiet and shy, but when forced to speak up and lead I was able to adapt to it. When the opportunity came up for a promotion to supervisor at work I got it, and have been in some form of management ever since, currently a manager. There are those that recommend Toastmasters, I never tried that but others have had success.
Kudos to you for recognizing an opportunity to improve yourself and improve your chances for advancement. Well done.
Warren Buffet has talked about taking a Dale Carnegie course to gain confidence and be less shy. People here have talked about how joining Toastmasters have helped them. I would recommend something like that.
The best managers I've had (note I've said "best" and not "most successful") were just Really Nice Guys. They were also extremely outgoing, to be honest, and I think that was also a huge part of it. So, in my best guess, sure you may need to come out of your shell a bit, and speak up in a very PC, inoffensive way when you disagree with someone. Being assertive does not necessarily mean being a jerk. I have had some real jerks as managers too, and while I think that being a jerk benefits them short-term, in the long run, it really doesn't.
Try getting active in professional groups. Many have local sections that are always looking for volunteer leaders. Charity groups and local civic groups are also a good suggestion.
If you have trouble speaking in front of people, you might try the Dale Carnegie classes. I took them over 20 years ago and really liked them. Toastmasters is another group that you might consider. I have a friend who recommends it for people trying to get better at public speaking.
Being a great engineer does not necessarily translate into being a great manager. 2 very different jobs. I've seem bright engineers get promoted into management and the place ran like crap. They absolutely couldn't organize anything, and were too concerned about micro managing the development process instead of keeping anything organized. I've met some bright engineers who ended being terrible terrible managers. From my experience technical project managers or former Business Analyst make better managers. Engineers almost never do. Or an engineer who got into management VERY early in his career.
I don't agree with the above poster, most of my managers have been brilliant engineers and I have high regard for my current and former managers. In fact, in core engineering, it is preferable to have a technically competent manager who can be approached on subject matters and who can provide guidance easily.
Some great suggestions from previous posters, especially regarding Toastmasters. Also, some companies (my spouse's for instance) offer a 2 week training at request and 'exam' at the end of the training to make that final leap from engineer to manager. Good luck!
Being a great engineer does not necessarily translate into being a great manager. 2 very different jobs. I've seem bright engineers get promoted into management and the place ran like crap. They absolutely couldn't organize anything, and were too concerned about micro managing the development process instead of keeping anything organized. I've met some bright engineers who ended being terrible terrible managers. From my experience technical project managers or former Business Analyst make better managers. Engineers almost never do. Or an engineer who got into management VERY early in his career.
+100
I dont know why companies think promoting a good/great engineer means they will become a good/great manager. You're right they are mutually exclusive. A good/great manager is subjective too. I've encountered a lot of managers in engineering or engineering related fields that think their only job is to manage people and disregard the actual work being done/needs to be done. Apparently they are very naiive and dont have a clue about being a good manager. its often overlooked that people don't actually know what leadership is. Just sitting on your backside all day and telling people what to do isn't exclusively what a manager is suppose to do.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
