Engineering Leadership
The adage from Chapter 1, and the training gap behind it.
2024-01-14 · 7 minute read
Chapter 1 of Engineering Leadership Bridging the Gap puts it plainly: great engineers do not always make good leaders, and great leaders do not always make good engineers. The work of an engineering leader is a blend — business management, transformational leadership, and a real engineering background.
Russell and Yao named the cost in 1996: hired for engineering skills, fired for a lack of interpersonal skills, promoted for business and leadership skills. Engineers are immersed in scientific method. They are rarely given formal training in communication, mentoring, or the commercial implications of a design. Then they are asked to lead.
The book’s answer is not a personality transplant. It is ELBTG: elevate engineers through soft-skills training; learn technical and leadership skills together; build leaders through mentorship; transform the team into a team of leaders; grow the organization by empowering engineers to lead.