Transition to Management GOLD Track Dr. John Reinert Director, Program Management and R&D Aeroflex, Colorado Springs 1998 President IEEE-USA

Topics l Career options l Suitability for management l Preparing for management l Making the change l Consolidating and progressing

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?

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.

Variation in People/Technology Technical Level People Involvement Individual Contributor CEO Production Mgr

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

Adding Additional Dimensions People Involvement Technology Involvement Financial Involvement

Why Make a Change? l Make a career change (only) because its something you will enjoy more (period)

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 (?!)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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