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Transition to Management GOLD Track Dr. John Reinert Director, Program Management and R&D Aeroflex, Colorado Springs 1998 President IEEE-USA
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Topics l Career options l Suitability for management l Preparing for management l Making the change l Consolidating and progressing
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So You Want To Be A Manager – Why? l Management – is it the right path? l Whats the motivation? l Money? l Influence? l Career Advancement? l Is it right for you? l What do you like to do? l Solve technical problems? l Do you like working individually or on teams? l Detail oriented or big picture? l Why did you get into engineering?
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Career Path Options l Management is one option – What are the others? l Individual Contributor – Directly applying your education solving technical problems l Contracting Engineer – using technical skills, but with greater flexibility and variety l Consulting – May be similar to contracting, but typically has value added, e.g. solving a problem not implementing a solution l Entrepreneur – Better add some business skills to your skill inventory.
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Variation in People/Technology Technical Level People Involvement Individual Contributor CEO Production Mgr
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Finding The Right Mix Technical Level People Involvement Individual Contributor CEO Production Mgr Director of Engineering Design Manager Facilities Manager Lead Engineer Applications Engineer Project Manager High Low
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Adding Additional Dimensions People Involvement Technology Involvement Financial Involvement
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Why Make a Change? l Make a career change (only) because its something you will enjoy more (period)
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Transition to Management l Technical issues are orderly l Theres a technical goal l You have math, logic, models, and tools to help you create a design or product l Physical laws and constants l People are messy l No two are alike l Although they come with labels that doesnt help in dealing with them l Constants vary over time (?!)
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Factors for Success In Management l High levels of ambition and motivation l Desire to work with people l Desire to direct work (vs. responding to the direction of others) l Desire to influence the bottom line l Interest in psychology and human behavior l Desire to demonstrate leadership ability From Williams: Transition to Management
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Why Management?: Prerequisites l If youre an engineer you probably werent trained for management. l Technical undergraduate education does not prepare you for management l Most programs now have some amount of team based work or projects l Whats different from Engineering? l People problems vs. Thing problems
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What is Management? l You spend more time on non-technical issues l You work more with people l Youre responsible for other peoples work l You have to motivate people l You have to deal with managers more often l The expectations for your work change
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Is The Timing Right? l Career progression is a mix of skill and experience l How long have you been a technical contributor? l Establish your technical credibility l To manage technical people you have to have their respect l How broad is your experience? l Gain exposure to a number of different areas
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One Path to Management l Baseline: A good engineer l First step: Technical leadership lead engineer l Recognized technical capability l Second step: Team leadership or technical project lead l Move beyond a technical assignment to consideration of the project objectives and scope
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One Path to Management l Third step: First level management l Typically a small group of engineers working on a related area of technical expertise l Involves supervision, management reporting, reviews (performance and salary) l Combines technical work and supervision l Fourth step: The options open up! l Multi-discipline l Design Group l Project Management l General Management
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Steps to the Transition – 1 l Nothing Happens Until You Start l Make a plan l Set an objective l Identify the steps to get there l Define a timetable l Select a mentor l Someone whos been there, done that l Willing to share ideas
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Steps to the Transition - 2 l Get the skills – experience, training l Experience in different areas l Some companies offer supervisory training l Is an MBA right for you? l Begin acting like a manager l Emulate what you want to be l Be proactive – step forward l Accept challenges/assignments
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Management Training Resources l In house courses/training l One day seminars/commercial l IEEE-USA l Todays Engineer, e-books l Engineering Management Society l Masters in Technology Management l MBA l Local IEEE activities – develop leadership skills
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Challenges For The New Manager l Relating to co-workers l Balancing technical vs. managerial l Balancing work life and home life l Time management l Delegation – real delegation l Personnel and Performance reviews
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Options Along the Way l P.E. – Professional Engineer l Provides enhanced career options l Consultant l Independent Engineering l MBA l Useful for a career in general management l Adds financial management skills l Adds non-mathematical problem solving skills
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Summary l Look at the choices and alternatives l Make a plan! l Pay your dues (Get that experience) l Get some training l Continue your education – in management and technical areas l Remember youre dealing now with people and money, not passive and active components
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References and Resources l What Every New Manager Needs to Know – Gus Gaynor l Developing Managerial Skills in Engineers and Scientists – Michael Badawy l On Career Transitions – Georgia Stelluto (IEEE- USA eBook) (Compilation of Articles) l Transition to Management – A Personal Perspective – Janet Williams, Sandia Labs l How do I get into Management – Barbara Reinhold – Monster.com article l Managing Humans – Michael Lopp
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