Who are Engineers?  The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness". Technically, Engineers work to develop economic and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics, scientific knowledge and ingenuity while considering technical constraints. More simply, Engineers are people who make things work. The work and ideas of engineers make achievements possible. They put power and materials to work.

Who are Managers? Managers are the individual who are responsible for coordinating and integrating activities of other people in the Organization. The classic definition of manager is “Leaders do the right thing and managers do things right”. Manager work to archive the organization goals by using limited resources such as people, money etc in an efficient and effective way.

Let’s begin the discussion with a small story. There were two brothers John and Smith. John, the elder one is a successful business man, B.com (Honors), M.B.A. from a reputed university. Smith, the younger one is a student in a reputed management college had done Engineering in Computer Science. Smith during his winter vacation went home. One day he went to his brother’s shop and found his elder brother bargaining for repairing his laptop with the service man. The service man asked his elder brother a sum of INR 20000. But somehow, his elder brother using his management skills bargained with the service man and they both agreed on a sum of INR 12000. His brother was very happy and proudly described Smith how he used his management skills and saved his INR 8000. Smith, who is an Engineer asked about the problems which his brother faced in his Laptop. He found the problems were not as big as his brother was charged. He then went to the service center and that service man now found someone who has good technical knowledge. The service man realized that now he cannot make fool of Smith like his elder brother. So, he apologized and charged him INR 2000 for his elder bother’s laptop. Smith returned to his brother’s shop and described how he used his technical skills and how he saved his brother’s INR 6000 (Instead of INR 10000). He kept INR 4000 by himself that proved his management skills too. So, who proved to be a good manager?

The world today needs creative leadership and technological entrepreneurship. So why do so many companies still believe that effective, science-minded engineers invariably will fail as good managers?

"Most engineers become managers in their careers, and typically they are unprepared for the transition," According to a paper that appeared in Engineering Management Journal in 2002.

Why, after all these years, is this view so widely held? Especially in large corporations?

Perhaps this view flows from an assumption that engineers prefer working with things (materials) and the laws of physics rather than managing people with their complex mix of emotions, passions, habits and some logic. Those who hold this perspective may not realize that many engineers enter the profession to help people meet their basic needs for lodging, food preparation, mobility, communication and health. Architectural engineers, food-processing engineers, transportation engineers, biomedical engineers and many others simply wanted to solve human problems technologically.

Engineers can be good managers as long as they are willing to continue enhancing their skill-set beyond academic study. On the job, an engineer can develop "a broad understanding and a clear vision of various administrative, financial, and psychological issues," regardless that some people feel an engineering education hinders such learning.

"Understanding how to recognize and evaluate market opportunities has become crucial," There are management skills in which engineers must excel, including:

• Ability to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity;
• Possessing effective lateral (functional) thinking and vertical (in-depth) thinking;
• Maintaining a team player's attitude;
• Explaining and persuading;
• Thinking internationally;
• Flexibility;
• Taking reasonable risks and responsibilities;
• Possessing knowledge of foreign values, attitudes and customers;
• Communicating well orally and graphically;
• Using various types of software and hardware; and
• Having a quick grasp of new approaches and ideas.

Perhaps most important, however, is passion and the ability to lead.

Let's start with leadership, because "leadership is moving beyond management," as the Amity International Business School (AIBS) puts it.

The real challenge was getting people aligned, getting them to function at the highest possible level and getting them to identify with the strategy we were following.

Ou Shian Waei, former managing director of IBM Malaysia, recently told The Edge Daily:

“You need to know where the company's and even the staff's weaknesses are — you can't be shy and defensive about that. It needs to be properly conveyed to the staff. You can then identify your strengths and preserve as well as build them at the same time. It's all about trust, which eventually leads to the formation of passion. With passion, opportunities could be found whenever a problem occurs”.

This leads us to passion in problem solving.

"The root of passion comes from understanding," Waei said. "You must have interest in the subject and want to explore it – and that's where your passion comes from – exploring," Waei said. He added, "it's passion that drives people to success."

Have you ever known an incurious engineer?

History is on the side that engineers can evolve into roles of managerial responsibility. After all, it was a young engineer named Kiichiro Toyoda who some 75 years ago founded the Toyota Motor Company. And today's Toyota Production System, not to mention a very strong management philosophy that exemplifies the success of engineers as managers, emerged from Toyoda's Company.

Since then, engineers have proven time and again that those in their profession possess the characteristics necessary to lead, never mind to manage. Why, then, does the view that good engineers invariably will fail as managers continue to be held?

We've only scratched the surface here. And while the question can only be answered based on the individual engineer, there is no good reason for professional engineers to imagine a glass ceiling holding them back in a management position as long as they can prove that when they take responsibility, success will follow.