标签: manager

Earlier this year, Juan Pablo Dellaroquelle, vice president of engineering at the Silicon Valley software company Medallia, made waves when he claimed in a blog post that good engineering managers don't exist . According to Dellaroquelle, engineers who aspire to “move up” into management aren’t good engineers -- otherwise they would have been happy in their roles -- and make even worse managers. Conversely, the best engineers may exercise influence through informal channels, but have no interest in becoming managers.   Certainly, nobody would aspire to be the pointy-haired boss from Scott Adams’ Dilbert comic strip, and as Alex Wolfe pointed out in a Design News blog, most engineers are happy in non-management roles. But is there such a thing as a good engineering manager? If so, do good engineers have the qualities necessary to be one?   I believe that good engineering managers really exist, because I’ve worked for them. (In fact, I happen to work for one right now.) I’ve also known people who were great engineers, but not-so-great engineering managers. And, of course, I’ve seen people who weren’t much good in either role.   One important thing to remember is that there’s a big difference between an engineering manager and a senior engineer. An engineering manager isn’t, or shouldn’t be, directly involved in detail-level design work. If you enjoy detail-level design work -- which you presumably do, since you chose engineering as a profession -- making this transition may be difficult. In fact, it’s the main reason why most engineers try to avoid management roles: you have to spend a lot of time doing things you don’t like (i.e. going to meetings), and little or no time doing things you like (i.e. designing innovative technical solutions).   It’s also one of the main reasons why some engineers don’t succeed as managers: the temptation to get involved in detail-level design is too great. You may be extremely bright and technically knowledgeable. However, if you’re in a management role, it’s unlikely you’re as well versed in the details of a project as the engineers who are working on it every day: they’re the ones who actually do the work. If you try to micromanage these details, not only will your engineers resent you, but, more often than not, you’ll make bad decisions. Furthermore, your engineers will make bad decisions, as they try to follow your (real or imagined) “mandates” rather than their own engineering judgment. You’re not the expert anymore, so don’t try to be.   So what should an engineering manager do? - Provide your engineers with high-level direction on project goals. - Empower them to make good decisions on their own - Don’t second-guess them, but challenge them to explain their thought processes to you. - Most importantly, find out what non-technical obstacles they’re facing, and work to address them.   Another important function of engineering managers is to communicate engineers’ work to upper management and other departments. There’s a persistent stereotype that technical people have poor communication skills, and there’s a good case to be made that engineering schools need to do a better job teaching these skills. However, good communication skills, by themselves, aren’t enough. When the 19th century Russian biologist Peter Kropotkin conducted field expeditions in Siberia, he would often take the time to explain his research to curious peasants. His aristocratic colleagues ridiculed him for trying to explain advanced biological concepts to illiterate villagers. Kropotkin replied: “You can explain anything to anyone -- provided that you understand it yourself.” As an engineering manager, you won’t be able to accurately represent your engineers’ work to upper management unless you have a strong technical understanding.   For this reason, being a good engineer is a prerequisite for being a good engineering manager. However, it’s a necessary but not sufficient condition: not every good engineer will make a good engineering manager, or even want to be one in the first place. This is why good engineering managers are few and far between. The good news is that they really exist. Furthermore, it’s something you can get better at. It’s a myth that some people are simply born to be managers. Like anything else, management and leadership skills are learned. The best engineering managers, like the best engineers, spend time trying to get better at what they do.   Readers, what do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.   About the author Dave Palmer is a licensed professional metallurgical engineer, specializing in failure analysis and materials selection. He  works as a metallurgist for a major marine engine manufacturer.  He holds a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and is completing his MS thesis at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

My idea of being a manager is that it is something you either want to do or something you hate doing. Some people I know began their careers with a management position (to be followed by a steady climb up the management ladder) as one of their main goals in life. For myself, I chose the technical path – I prefer to work on my own or as part of a team, but I really haven't enjoyed being a manager on the several occasions when this dubious honour has been thrust upon me. Not that I have anything against managers, you understand – someone has to do it (bless their little cotton socks) – and as long as my managers keep on giving me pay rises I'm all for them (grin). Thinking back, I've known some really great managers in my time. I've also known a lot of mediocre managers along with a few absolute drongos. I recall one really dreadful manager (who shall remain nameless) from early in my career. This was the sort of guy who would try to take all of the glory. When we had visitors, for example, he would being them down to the lab to show them whatever system we were working on, and you could hear him saying things along the lines of "No one knew what to do; it looked like the project was going to be a disaster; and then I had a flash of inspiration and realised that we needed to lighten the tribulating grockles and reverse the oscillating field stabilisers." Then he would wander off with the visitors in tow. The bottom line was that this manager always did his best to grab all of the credit – he never acknowledged any of the contributions made by the people who worked for him. By comparison, I recall one really amazing manager called Peter Miles from my days at Cirrus Designs in Manchester, England (Cirrus Designs was eventually acquired by GenRad). If Peter were to bring visitors into our lab, you would hear him saying things like "Well, everything is working now and exceeding our expectations, but this is all due to my amazing team. For example, we couldn't work out how to graunch down the tattle-butts, but then our new intern John came up with a really cunning solution. Look, here's John now – John, come over here for a moment will you..." Then Peter would introduce the young engineer John to the visitors and sing his praises, and John would spend the rest of the day walking around with a great big beaming smile on his face. The thing was that, although Peter always made out that it was the team who had done everything, it was obvious to anyone with eyes to see that he was the enabler of his team's success. I've known (and still know) managers who have reached their level of mediocrity and who are scared of losing their position (or worried about some other thing), so they hire people who are less able than themselves and they actively try to hobble anyone who shines brighter. By comparison, I've also known managers who always try to attract the brightest and best to their teams, irrespective of whether those people are intellectually or technically superior, because they know that if the team shines then everyone wins. Which manager do you think is the more successful in the long run? Which manager would you rather work for? The reason I'm waffling on about this here is that I just finished reading Empower Your Inner Manager by Ian Mackintosh, who president of OCP-IP . Ian earned his Master of Science degree in microelectronics from Southampton University in England, so he "knows his onions" on the technical side of the fence. Ian also has executive management experience across the board, from start-up companies to large corporations, so he also knows what he's talking about when it comes to management. Now, there are a mind-boggling number of management books out there, but most of them focus on how to learn different aspects of management, like time management, or how to motivate, or how to delegate or ... stuff like that. Ian's book is different. What this book does is: * List the most-significant skills and behaviours possessed by well-developed managers. * Explain the specifics involved in mastering these skills (it doesn't teach you how to develop the skills you lack, but it suggests where you can go and what you can do to remedy the situation). * Help you to determine your own strengths and weaknesses regarding the various skills. * Help you determine those skills you need to personally target in order to support your immediate growth and career needs. * Help you design a self-improvement plan to target specific positions and to manage your progress along your chosed career path. * Provide you with the ongoing ability to revisit and reassess your growth needs as they evolve in the future. As Ian says: "Competition for management jobs continues to intensify with each passing year. If you are betting your financial welfare on your next management position and subsequent promotions, you will now need to be much better prepared to capture those increasingly scares opportunities than you might previously have realised." Empower Your Inner Manager is of interest to just about anyone who wishes to move into a management role, or who is already established on the management ladder. In the case of someone who wishes to become a manager, this book will set you on the right path by teaching you what you need to know and showing you how to determine what areas you need to focus on. If you are already a manager, this book will help you identify those areas in which you are strong, and those which could use some improvement. Although I personally have no interest whatsoever in becoming a manager myself, I'm all for managers becoming better at what they do, because that will make the world a better place for the rest of us. So if you want to be a manager – or if you have already donned the undergarments of authority and stride the corridors of power – I would really appreciate it if you would read this book.  

Job Description: Job Title: Design Manager, Power Management Products Location: Shenzhen, China  Summary: Manages the design of power management integrated circuits, including design, layout, test, evaluation and debugging of prototype ICs and design support for mass production Essential Functions: • Manages a team of power management IC design engineers and directs the activities of the team • Receives assignments in the form of objectives and determines how to use resources to meet schedules and goals • Provides hands-on technical leadership and training for design staff • Researches design techniques, develops innovative new designs for patenting or protecting as trade secret • Communicates technical information and schedules to senior members of the management team • Attends design reviews to provide input and monitor the quality and effectiveness of design reviews • Makes sure all design activities are well documented • Works with marketing and applications teams to promote technical vision of products • Oversees design validation by laboratory measurements • Conducts annual performance reviews of subordinates • Recruits, selects, develops, and motivates the best engineers to ensure efficient operation   Qualifications: • M.S. EE with minimum 5 years of industry experience • Chinese and English language proficiency required   Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: • Strong knowledge of engineering fundamentals • Advanced AC/DC, signal and system analysis skills (poles, zeros, compensation) • Advanced knowledge and skills in transistor level analog and mixed-signal circuit design • Advanced parasitic analysis knowledge (capacitance, inductance, resistance, power grid) • Advanced device modeling skills (noise, excess thermal noise, secondary effect) • Advanced understanding of layout techniques and tradeoffs • Advanced knowledge and skills in power management IC design • Knowledge of modern fabrication processes • Knowledge of digital design and design flows • Advanced laboratory measurement skills (analog, power) • Good Chinese and English written and verbal presentation skills   KT-Judy GM of Shenzhen Branch Tel:    (86)755-8636 9010-801 Mobile:(86)180 2532 3009 MSN: judy9228@hotmail.com QQ:782288610 Email: judy-wu@kthr.com http://www.kthr.com KTHR----We focus on IC/Telecom/Electronics  industry ****************************************