Engineering Manager Mistakes You Should Avoid
When engineers are already in the better office, in a fully air-conditioned room complete with massive files and drawers, it is time to shape up. Transitioning from an engineering employee to an engineering manager is not as easy as it sounds, because the position requires leadership skills and supervising talent to handle everything that is bounded by work. You should seek not to disappoint the company when you’re already a manager.
While some skills aren’t readily found in an engineer, it would be best to start pondering upon this list that describes the mistakes every engineering manager should avoid.
Taking credit for what you have not done
The rule of thumb is always this: give credit where credit is due. This kind of attitude lingers among the employees, but you are no longer part of the league. If did nothing about an accomplishment that propelled the company, as a manager, congratulate the one who made it happen and never even think of taking the spotlight from that person. It sets a bad impression that you’re grabbing what’s not yours.
Not empowering your employees
If you think taking away the authority from the others works on your favor, you are wrong. Micro-managing is not empowering your employees as this breeds distrust. You have to be an engineering leader who protects the work of your co-engineers and staff by making them feel responsible of their jobs.
Spending more time on personal improvement rather than the organization’s
Spending so much time on seminars, which are actually short-term vacation involving yourself and none of the rest of the team? Some days it will work, most days it won’t.
Lacking focus with no master plan
A bad trait for an engineering manager is to be all over the place. There is no strategy whatsoever that presents the fact that you have no idea of what you are doing. Take a plan of action first before diving into the concrete.
Sucking out the positive energy
A bad day for you should not be a bad day for the rest of the people in the company. Be responsible enough to handle the stresses and not take it on everyone in the office or site.
If there’s one thing that you should be the core of your management style, whatever it may be, it should be productivity. It doesn’t matter which type of personality you have, you just need to make sure that your leadership promotes every engineer and person in your workplace to be valuable employees.
