Starting out as an engineer is the leading first job to becoming a potential CEO for one of the top 100 companies in the US and the UK a study has revealed, also more top CEOs now have engineering degrees than MBAs though some have both.
For those professionals whose career foundation is science based, it may be transformational to realise that they have a knowledge base which is ideally suited to executive management. Often, early career life is demanding and young professionals are loaded with work which they eagerly accept as a way of gaining experience … the result is that, to meet their work and family/social demands, they often do not take time to examine the “bigger” picture.
Central to all engineering, science, technology and IT based qualifications, is a core set of science based principles which are the foundation of most if not all management theory. It is the way in which these disciplines require you to think – concepts such as tipping points, gap analysis, equilibrium, entropy, and a handful of others - are the basis of management theory!
Moreover, those with any form of “technical” qualification get direct exposure to real front line operational practice. Been there, done it, got the T Shirt, is a great foundation … but only if the professional is permitted to adapt their practical experience to “management think” are they likely to be work as business executives.
At GLOMACS, we have developed a programme for such professionals, entitled "Management & Leadership Skills for Engineers and Science Based Professionals" – it has been developed by an experienced engineer who has worked with many discipline professionals internationally. He recognised the extensive need to enable the science based graduates to develop their management skills and unlock their potential as managers and leaders.
