What do you do if you're a professional transitioning into Engineering Management?

As an engineering manager, you'll need to have a strong understanding of the technical aspects of your team's work. This means staying up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends in your field. Consider taking courses or attending conferences to build your technical expertise. Engineering managers need to be effective leaders who can motivate and inspire their teams. This means developing skills such as communication, delegation, and conflict resolution. Project management is a critical skill for engineering managers, as they are responsible for delivering projects on time and within budget. Consider taking a project management course or certification program to build your skills in this area.

???Strengthen your management skills while leveraging your technical background. ??Develop effective communication techniques for managing and leading teams. ??Learn project management methodologies to handle complex projects efficiently. ??Focus on building leadership qualities that inspire and motivate your team. ??Gain knowledge in financial and business aspects relevant to engineering management. ??Consider taking courses or attending workshops to bridge any knowledge gaps. ??Continuously seek feedback and improve your management approach. ??Network with experienced managers to gain insights and mentorship.

You know, upper management often says that when someone switches from an engineering role to management, it’s like losing a good engineer and gaining a not-so-great manager—at least initially. It takes time to develop those new skills. Hardcore engineers tend to underestimate other aspects of the business, like sales, finance, and marketing. But once you see the bigger picture, your perspective changes. Former colleagues might not fully get it, but that’s when you learn to use your technical background to lead a technical team effectively

As you transition into Engineering Management, it's crucial to build on your existing technical skills with management capabilities. This includes learning how to effectively communicate with your team, understanding project management methodologies, and developing leadership qualities. You might consider enrolling in courses or workshops that focus on these areas. Additionally, familiarize yourself with the financial and business aspects of engineering projects to make informed decisions that align with your organization's goals. Continuous learning and adaptability are key as you evolve from a technical

As a new engineering manager, you'll need to leverage a different skill set. You'll need to focus on your team, their needs and your ability to lead and develop them. First, start with how you communicate. You may need to adjust your communication skills to fit the needs of your team. Next, meet with each of your team members to learn more about them, their personalities and their career goals. Lastly, take a few trainings around conflict resolution, time management, communication and delegation. These are often difficult for new engineering managers. While your technical skills are valuable, the ability to lead people is often different and strange but invaluable on many levels.

Most work environments in this era don't necessarily have traditional mentorship programs. Therefore, need to actively seek out mentor—internally or externally. Read. Listen. Take classes. Join organizations that align with your aspirations. Find mentor by finding your like tribe for encouragement, motivation and career growth. Mentoring does not need to come from one person, so keep an open mind and network with as many people as possible. Join your local professional body, such as a local PMI chapter. Or get involved with university’s alumni program since many of them have mentoring options. There are people out there who are more than happy to be mentors. You may not succeed with the first person you ask, but be persistent.

Most engineering managers are engineers, so that's where I'll direct this answer. When seeking mentorship, you can either: 1) try to find someone with similar experience 2) try to find someone with completely different experience In both cases, I recommend finding someone who is 3-5 years ahead of you career-wise. Any more than that and they're probably out of touch. Any less and congratulations, you've found a peer to join you on this journey. I guess the short answer is, find people you look up to, be curious, and always add value :)

Work with people (engineering is about people too), build a team. Delegate, (its really hard to do well). Delegate those tasks you really like to do yourself, allow people to fail, pick them up and support them if they do fail.

Building skills as a proffesional leader which enables you to lead others and manage a team Mentorship training from other management engineers who are already in the field so that one can know Do's and Don'ts

Learning from people who've been on the job becomes crucial. Your manager can play a very pivotal role. At least it did for me. Overall in your career you will have many managers you work with, I always enjoyed leading others, so I kept a list of "things I liked" and "things I did not like". Over the years it became my goto document, to recognize not just good behaviors but things to avoid as a manager. First time managers need to go through a bunch of organizational training, these can be very helpful to set you up for what's expected. Discussing their implications in real life with someone who has been doing this, can be very practical.

When transitioning into engineering management, it's important to understand the different types of teams and how they operate. This includes understanding the team's structure, roles and responsibilities, communication channels, and decision-making processes. It's also important to understand the team's culture and dynamics, including how team members interact with each other and how conflicts are resolved. As an engineering manager, need to be able to build and lead effective teams. This means understanding how to motivate and inspire team members, how to delegate tasks and responsibilities, and how to resolve conflicts. Teams with flat hierarchies each responsible for different stages of the patient journey.

When you start managing a team, never forget that your success relies on your team being successful. Before you start making any changes or providing any feedback, go on a listening tour. Try and understand - 1. How does your team function as a unit? 2. What makes the team successful? 3. What slows the team down? 4. What role each person on the team plays? 5. What does the team need from you as their manager? Spending time finding the answers to these questions will allow you to connect with your team members, show that you are open to listening and what to understand the why and the hows. It will help you build trust with the team. This will also allow you to identify problems that you need to tackle to positively impact your team.

This is as much about understanding the team you are responsible for as a unit as it is about the teams you (the team and yourself) are interacting with, i.e., the team's integration into the wider organization. Who delivers information/artefacts to whom and in what cadence? Inquire about past, present and future work and challenges. Try this: In the past, I found it more than worth it to get to know team members as a person first, moving on to their goals, roles and responsibilities only after. Give them as much about yourself as you're expecting of them.

Learn to identify strengths and weaknesses in the skills individuals have to help them perform better. Learn to delegate effectively. Learn to resolve conflict to produce the best possible result.

Your team is a "system" of sorts. Each member has particular skills, technical and interpersonal. Hire and assign tasks according to who's good at these tasks, who enjoys what, and of course looking at the tasks you have to assign. Take it to the next level and also consider the career goals of each team member. But, don't get stuck in analysis paralysis; a good plan now is far better than a perfect plan that makes you late.

Effectively manage change in projects, the governing body and sponsor ensures that a change management structured approach is followed for transitioning individuals, groups, and organizations from the current state to a future state with intended business benefits. The sponsor deals with the business issues associated with the change to ensure that the benefits of the change are achieved.The sponsor works with the project manager to identify the change management and transition activities and resources required. The sponsor also supports and builds commitment for the project across the organization. The sponsor should ensure that any conflicts are resolved in an appropriate manner.

It's mostly going to be the case that you have extensive project management exposure as a senior engineer before you choose to become a manager. This is essential because now you are responsible for drafting roadmaps that will motivate members of your team. End to end ownership can really help you build your own tricks to avoid dropping things on the floor. You'd be surprised to know how many seasoned managers often forget things as they don't keep a tab. Build a system that works for you, I use a living document to dump my thoughts and regular curate them to avoid dropping. You're often not responsible for making the changes, but ensuring projects get delivered is your responsibility. Prepare to get your hands dirty from time to time.

You should know mostly project management paradigms but you should choose one depends on project goals and limitations. But as a manager you should be agile-oriented. In modern world it's a must. Life and demands are changing faster than you think and you should be prepared for this. You should learn you customers to be able to predict there willings in future.

Before transitioning to a managerial role, senior engineers typically gain extensive project management experience. This is crucial as managers are responsible for creating motivating roadmaps for their teams. Taking end-to-end ownership helps prevent overlooking tasks. Develop a personalized system to organize thoughts and tasks. While not always directly implementing changes, ensuring project delivery is the manager's responsibility. Familiarize yourself with various project management paradigms and adopt an agile approach. Adaptability is essential in a rapidly changing environment. Understanding customer needs enables predicting future demands.

Start by mastering the core methodologies such as Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall. Each methodology offers unique advantages. Develop a detailed project plan that outlines all phases from initiation to closure. This plan should include a clear scope, defined milestones, a realistic timeline, and a comprehensive budget. Utilize project management software to track progress, manage tasks, and facilitate communication among team members. Tools like Jira, Trello, and Microsoft Project can streamline project workflows and enhance collaboration. Break down the project into manageable tasks and allocate resources accordingly. Prioritize tasks based on their impact on the critical path. Regularly review the project schedule and make adjustments.

In your role as an engineering manager, always remember that you are the change maker, an ideas broker. You can lead from the front on this, by bringing new ideas and processes to the table which will allow your team to experience first-hand that you encourage change to eliminate any waste and focus on the outcome and success. Experiment with various ideas and processes. Scrap the ones that don't work for your team and take the learnings. Zero-in on the ones that work best for your team. This will allow you to normalize failing and recovering fast within your team. Seeing these things in action will encourage team members to voice their ideas and innovations which you can then allocate time and resources towards if there is value.

Current mining industry is lack of adopting new technologies and catching up the trend. Most of the miners are too slow to react on improving their system and techniques. This needs to start from design and keep the open mind from higher level

Engineering management is more about team leadership, effective team communication and staying a people person who practices servant leadership. Other aspects include project delivery and optimized use of resources (people , machine and money). Always be on the lookout for process improvement ideas, empower the team to challenge the status quo and encourage creative thinking by mentoring and guiding them. Focus on people development and ensure continuous improvement is built into the mindset and culture of the team and company. this helps you build a multi- talented team. Consider applying the Herzberg's 2 factor theory to develop highly motivated team members and address their job satisfaction levels.

A good leader should become a Catalyst for change and innovation. This does not mean do everything by yourself by rather: - Empower your team to think creatively and experiment - Normalize "failing fast" by framing it as a learning opportunity - Stay curious. Research industry trends and technologies, competitors and directions - Encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing The question appears - how to ensure it is working? Set measurable success metrics. Think of an impact now, in 3 months, 6 months, a year.

Innovation is the key to growth both In a team environment as well as individual growth. Stay fast and strive to be the best, innovate never stagnate. Leaders are not born they have a character within them that drives innovation

This is a number one rule. Never be the leader that just says do and is not willing to contribute and dive in. In my experience side bye side not only fosters good will but shows your subordinates that you are not only a leader but a person like them this will gain you loyalty and enable your success

Setting a high standard for oneself is essential before expecting it from others. Demonstrating leadership, particularly in challenging situations, serves as a powerful example. Involving team members in key meetings can demystify decision-making processes and foster inclusiveness. When establishing performance metrics, it's beneficial to illustrate your personal strategies for meeting these targets. In the realm of engineering, maintaining technical proficiency is crucial. Strive to remain actively engaged with project work, contributing directly to your teams' deliverables, to sustain credibility and inspire your team by example.

Before expecting high standards from others, it's vital to set them for oneself. Leading by example, especially in tough situations, is impactful. Inclusive decision-making involves team members in key meetings, demystifying processes. When setting performance metrics, sharing personal strategies fosters transparency. In engineering, maintaining technical proficiency is essential; stay involved in projects to inspire credibility. Never just instruct; contribute alongside your team to earn loyalty and foster success.

Team should see that you take responsibility such case as: - architecture and engineering decisions - argues between colleagues - all unexpected situations

This is the most misunderstood topic I have come across in leadership. This means: You should ALWAYS walk the talk and abide by the rules you set for your team. - If you want people to be punctual, you should be punctual yourself. - If you set up engagements or workshops for your team, don't just order your team to attend. You should be sitting in the front row. What that does NOT mean: 1. Writing software for the major part of the day. 2. Reviewing every line of code yourself. 3. Being the expert in every tech your team uses.

Manage your time. Sounds trite and rudimentary. But the demands on your time and how you spend your time, may well be one of the key reasons for your success (or lack thereof). I always tried to be intentional (actually measuring my time spent) about focusing my time in three dimensions: -running the business -people -strategy As a new manager, running the business and people will likely dominate your “percent time spent”. As you grow in responsibility, strategy and vision will play a bigger role. But be intentional about it. Decide for yourself where and how much time you spend. If you don’t, the insidious nature of the demands on you, will decide it for you. My 2 cents….

Soft skills are highly valuable as a manager... Don't understimate the role of morale management and emotional regulation in your effectiveness as a manager. No matter how sharp you are, if you can't motivate others, your skills can't be applied to lead others. "EQ" is your ace when leading!

7 Situational Leadership It is vitally important to fully understand where each team member is at on their career path and then use the proper leadership style they need in order to individually progress: train, coach, support, delegate.

Aunque el rol de un gerente de ingeniería se centra más en la gestión, es crucial que posean un conocimiento técnico sólido para tomar decisiones acertadas, evaluar el trabajo de su equipo y entender los desafíos técnicos que puedan surgir.

Transitioning into engineering management means shifting from doing the work to guiding others. - Let go of the need to be across all the details—your focus is on enabling the team’s success. - Delegate and trust your team, providing feedback and guidance regularly. - Manage upwards and sideways to align your team’s efforts with company goals. - Paint a clear vision so they see how their work contributes to the bigger picture. - Foster a culture of trust, collaboration, and openness to ideas.