Soft Skills for Engineers, Scientists, and Technical Managers"
Steven Cerri is an expert in training and coaching engineers, scientists, and technologists in the interpersonal people skills (the soft skills) necessary to be effective communicators and great technical managers and leaders
Steven works with engineers, scientists, technologists, and technical managers who often want, what is referred to as, "communication and people skills, and management and leadership skills".
Steven provides soft skills training, facilitation, and coaching. A soft skill is not the same as a hard skill.
"Hard skills" include budgeting, scheduling, and task development, but
"soft skills" include:
These soft skills are usually absent due to a lack of training and coaching, nothing more.
However, as a result of the absence of these soft skills, and while it may not be their intention, many engineers, managers, or individual contributors, are often perceived as aloof,
difficult to communicate with, uncooperative, and unable to effectively contribute to and lead teams or projects or groups; especially to the level desired by the organization.
Often Steven's clients find their careers at an impasse, unable to be promoted beyond their current level because of their inability to deal most effectively with people. Not with ideas, or technical issues, but with people.
Instead they would rather be able to remain calm, achieve cooperation from others, move smoothly through discussions, meetings, and interactions in ways that motivate and inspire others to achieve what is needed and desired by the organization, the team, the project, and the company.
Through his coaching, facilitation, and training, Steven teaches engineers, scientists, and technologists how to communicate effectively with anyone in any situation and he teaches them how to be great technical managers and leaders... the type of technical professionals, managers, and leaders that their managers want to promote.
Steven implements his expertise in five different ways:
He coaches engineers, scientists, and IT professionals; basically all technical professionals in the interpersonal, people skills necessary for success as individual contributors and for success as technical managers and organizational leaders. The coaching process is ALWAYS customized. Personal coaching means just that.. it's personalized to the individuals' and the company's' needs. Steven doesn't just ask questions and he doesn't just give suggestions. He provides a framework that actually motivates the client to achieve what is necessary to become successful at the next step in their career. Steven's coaching is unlike other coaching programs. It is truly a combination of client personal enhancement, coupled with cutting edge inter-personal technology, and years of experience as a technologist and technical manager. The combination makes for a unique and highly effective, results oriented coaching process.
He conducts in-house and public classes and workshops. The in-house classes are customized to focus in on the issues facing the client company and the client employees. These focused trainings are designed to provide behavioral solutions that can be applied immediately upon completion of the program. Included in these programs is a close support system that allows the client to rely on Steven's expertise on an as needed basis. Obviously, the public classes and workshops are designed to provide substantial value to a broader range of client companies and client employees.
He teaches at the University of California, Santa Barbara, California.
He speaks frequently. Steven provides information on a speaking circuit that emphasizes the adage that "Technical professionals are hired for their technical expertise and fired for their lack of fit." This message is presented in a wide variety of ways and in a variety of topics so the technical professional gets clearly in their minds that what made them successful at one level of their career will not make them successful at the next. New responsibilities require new capabilities.
He has written extensively on interpersonal people skills, management, and leadership in technical organizations. In conjunction with the channels listed above, Steven has written extensively on his topics of interest. Some of those writings can be found on this website.
"Steven works with engineers, scientists, and technologists and the companies they work for. He coaches, trains, and facilitates technical professionals to be as adept in the soft skills of communication and interpersonal-people skills, and management and leadership, as they are with their computers!"
To read Steven's latest thoughts on interpersonal communication, technical management, and leadership, click here