#58-5/27/08: Is It Just Old Age?
Is It Just Old Age?
Do all engineers either become managers or get pushed aside?
Posted by Steven Cerri on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Hello everyone!
Over the years, I’ve been asked by many clients, the following question:
“As engineers, what is it that drives us to become either less successful over time in our engineering organizations or pushes us into management as we age? It seems we are doomed to not be able to be successful just doing our engineering. What’s going on?”
I’ve been asked this flavor of question by senior engineers; by engineers who felt compelled and pressured to become managers; by young engineers who were surrounded by much older engineers doing the same work as they were doing; and on and on. It seems that companies want something different, over time, from their engineers. And I keep getting asked what it is and why it is so.
* Is it that we get older?
* Is it that the company wants something different from us as we age and gain experience?
* Is it that our salary gets too high?
* Is it that technology leaves us behind?
* Is it that things are changing so rapidly that we can’t keep up?
* Is it that there is no where else to be promoted to?
Do any or all of these factors “force us” into the management ranks or make us stumble as we get older as engineers?
What does it take for us to be successful throughout our careers as engineers and what is it that seems to relentlessly push us toward engineering management?
The answers to these questions all fall into the same bucket and yet seem quite different and somewhat complicated.
It’s not just a one-line answer. It’s a complicated process and it’s a combination of several factors.
The situation I’m describing probably develops for 80% to 90% of engineers to some degree. It’s starts early in your careers by the small steps taken but doesn’t often show up until 10+ years in the business.
Lets look at some of the more important factors one by one.
Factor #1: First, as time goes by and you get older and get more experience, if you remain a technical professional, an engineer, your salary increases in comparison to those who are graduating from school. The new graduates can do the technical work you are doing just as well as you, or nearly so, and at a much lower salary. Not withstanding the “experience” you have gained in your years as an engineer, unless you have “important” experience, the young people coming out of school can do what you do. And, as I’ve stated, at a much lower salary.
When I joined Rockwell International in 1969, right out of college something hit me like a ton of bricks the first day on the job. There were people there twice my age (and more) who were doing the exact same work I was. No doubt they had more experience than me, but in most cases and on most tasks, we were doing the same work, and their salaries were twice mine. At some point, this doesn’t make good business sense. And as the Apollo program began to ramp down, most of the expensive people who were doing the same work I was doing were laid off. I was kept because I could do the work and I wasn’t as expensive as others. It wasn’t a pleasant time in our aerospace history, but it was driven by business considerations. It is also what drove me to get two more advanced degrees in broader areas of discipline. I didn’t want to end up like my older colleagues competing with the college graduates for tasks.
So, from the company’s point of view, the goal is to make that increased salary pay for something that is not obtainable from someone just out of school.
And what is it? It’s Judgment! Experience doesn’t always equal judgment, but judgment requires experience.
Companies are willing to pay for judgment; that intangible element that comes from experience and yet is difficult to quantify. Turn your experience into an ability to see what others do not see, into an ability to predict outcomes that can’t be calculated and you become valuable.
Factor #2: Technology is changing very rapidly and the speed of technical change is increasing. If an engineer is to keep up with technology, he or she must constantly be learning the latest in technological knowhow.
The bottom line is that if you want to stay an engineer, if you want to stay out of management, then you must stay abreast of technological knowhow.
This is difficult to do. Because even if you stay abreast of technology, your salary creeps higher and higher. Without developing judgment, the young people just out of school will still have an edge.
Factor #3: Most organizations believe that as an engineer ages, they are acquiring something that is not taught in college. Most companies believe that the work environment will teach you how to communicate effectively with others, how to work on teams, how to work with and lead teams, and how to work with people all round the world.
Unfortunately, that is not what is taught to employees. Many of the best engineers don’t learn how to communicate while at work. They don’t learn how to work on teams either and most engineers don’t realize this is missing from their resume until they reach a certain age. And then they hit the “wall”. Their careers slow down. Their manager complains to them about their inability to communicate effectively with others. Their manager tells them that they ought to be promoted but they just don’t have the people skills necessary to make the next transition.
Managers and company organizations actually believe that the appropriate people skills, the effective communication skills, the team building skills can be taught “on the job”. It just doesn’t happen that way. Actually, the WRONG behaviors are taught “on the job”. And often, these people skills are the most important of the three factors I’ve discussed so far. Master the people skills, and the other two factors often come along.
These are the three top factors driving the typical engineer into a career corner. There are other factors, certainly, that depend on specific situations. But generally speaking, these three factors are driving engineers either into management, or into frustration, or out the door… in the long term. And if you are going to adjust any of these parameters in order to strengthen your career, you must adjust all three of them, in the following priority. Number 1, master communication and people skills. Number 2, translate your experience into “judgment”. And Number 3, keep up with technology as best you can.
Even if you don’t want to become a manager, adjusting these three factors, will go a long way in securing a long-lived, engineering career.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
“What would it be like to be as successful with people as you are with your technology?” Steven trains, coaches, and facilitates engineers and technical managers to BE the answer to that question. More information can be found at the:http://stevencerri.com/index.php/Home/index/
Copyright©2008 STCerri International and Steven Cerri. You are free to pass this information on to others and to reproduce it. If you reproduce it in whole or part please give attribution to Steven Cerri. Thank you.
Posted by Steven Cerri on 05/27 at 07:39 AM (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
#57-5/21/08: Micromanagement To The Rescue!
Micromanagement To The Rescue!
The case for “close-in” management.
Posted by Steven Cerri on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hello everyone!
What would you do if you were managing a direct report who complained much of the time? A direct report who “spewed venom” in conversations with other employees, complaining about the company, or about management, or about work conditions, or about work in general? What would you do if this employee went into the offices or cubicles of colleagues and consumed 30 minutes or more at a time, bending the ears of colleagues with rants about how “this isn’t working” or “that’s not working”, or “did you hear about....”?
How would you handle this direct report?
… Would you just ignore him or her?
… Would you talk to them?
… Would you talk to his or her colleagues?
… When this employee’s colleagues complained to you, (some are also your direct reports and some are not) would you tell them to just ignore the tirades?
I’ve had this situation in my management career enough times to loose count. Here is the approach that has worked for me.
I like to use the analogy of a thumbtack, a nail, my thumb, and a hammer. Lets say I’m putting up a picture and I don’t know if I should use a thumbtack or a nail. At the start, I usually assume that a thumbtack will be sufficient. I assume the least “intrusive” approach until and unless I’m shown that a more intense approach is warranted. So I’ll begin with thumbtack and use my thumb to push it into the wall. If that works, fine. I’f not, only then will I get out the nail and the hammer and pound that nail into the wall.
The same holds true for my approach to this management situation. My first approach is to talk to the employee and if that works, great! If not, then we are going to have an intense process indeed. Here are the details.
The Thumbtack and the Thumb Approach
I tell the direct report that I’ve been getting feedback that he/she has been complaining quite a bit about “xyz” and colleagues are not happy about it.
Next I’d ask what is causing the “ranting”. In this way I can find out more about the “map of the world” of the direct report. My goal here, at a minimum, is to understand the motivation of the employee’s complaints as much as possible. Unless I agree there is something legitimate about the complaints, in which case I’d attempt to remedy the situation, I’d tell the direct report that the complaints have to stop. They are distracting, unappreciated by other employees, and they don’t do anything positive for the image of the direct report either in my eyes or in the eyes of fellow employees.
I would get a commitment from the employee to end the complaining and that wold be the end of our discussion.
Then I’d watch and listen.
If the situation improves or corrects, great!
If it doesn’t, then we go to the next level.
This next level gets everyone involved. Here is what I mean.
The Nail and the Hammer Approach
First I would talk to all the colleagues and other employees who have complained to me about this direct report as well as those I believe the direct report has contact with but who have not complained to me. I would tell them that the direct report’s behavior is not acceptable and that I want their help in dealing with this. I would tell them that I would like them to stop the employee “in his/her tracks”, immediately when he/she begins to complain. Just don’t listen to it. Turn your back. Kick them out of your office or cubicle. Don’t do anything to support the ranting. And I would get a commitment from these employees to support my plan. Also, I would ask them to notify me whenever and as soon as he/she attempts to rant or complain.
I would then have another meeting with the complaining employee to express my disappointment with their previous behavior and their lack of adjustment. I would make it clear that their ranting is not acceptable and that I’ve decided to raise the “temperature” around this behavior. I would tell him/her that I’ve talked to all the other employees and they are not longer going to support this behavior and that if I hear of this behavior again I’m going to come down on them like a ton of bricks. I’d make it clear that this has now become very serious and if it continues it will adversely affect this person’s performance review and perhaps their future at the company.
End of discussion!
Then I’d watch and listen. However, this time things would be different. If the direct report complained and I got feedback from anyone that the behavior was continuing, I go right to the complaining employee and tell them that I heard they were ranting again and to stop it. Every time I got word that the employee was behaving in an unacceptable manner (i.e., complaining) from anyone, I’d go right to the employee and tell them that I knew of their unacceptable behavior and they were to stop it. The only way I’d give the employee any “breathing room” was if they stopped the undesirable behavior.
This approach has worked for me over and over again.
Is it micromanagement?..... Some would call it that. I call it “Contextual Management©” which is my idea of picking the best management approach for a given situation.
Does it work?..... You bet! It’s worked for me over and over again.
Is it necessary?..... It seems to be. No other approach has worked as well.
The Real World
I’ve been coaching several managers who have just the situation I’ve described above. The direct reports range all over the map regarding their age, background, discipline, gender, etc. And in most cases my clients (i.e., the managers) have been successful. Sometimes the “thumbtack and thumb” approach works alone and sometimes the “thumbtack and thumb to nail and hammer” approach works. The only managers who have not been successful raining in their complaining employees have been those managers who began their intervention with the “nail and hammer” approach. It seems that the approach that begins “lighter” and then brings in the heavy hammer (the approach that I’ve always used) works better than just beginning with the hammer.
Be well,
Steven Cerri
“What would it be like to be as successful with people as you are with your technology?” Steven trains, coaches, and facilitates engineers and technical managers to BE the answer to that question. More information can be found at the:http://stevencerri.com/index.php/Home/index/
Copyright©2008 STCerri International and Steven Cerri. You are free to pass this information on to others and to reproduce it. If you reproduce it in whole or part please give attribution to Steven Cerri. Thank you.
Posted by Steven Cerri on 05/21 at 09:27 AM (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
