Synopsis
Why do some technical experts succeed as leaders and managers while others struggle or fail when making the transition? Leading people and managing organizations are vastly different from solving technical problems and require new knowledge and skills. Numbers to People provides answers and is a guidebook for successful transitions from technical expert to leader. The author, an engineer, made that leap successfully and shares the results of his research and real world experience gained serving clients world-wide. If you need to know how to successfully leap from technical expert to leader using sound and proven principles then Numbers to People is for you. Finding and keeping technical talent is a challenge for businesses today. While most organizations provide promotional opportunities for technical personnel, they do not want to lose technical talent by promoting someone into a leadership position and then have the person fail. Losing technical talent is expensive. It is even more costly when a top technical expert is promoted and then leaves the organization. Numbers to People is intended to help anyone in a technical job make a successful transition to leadership or management. Numbers to People examines the top 10 reasons technical experts fail when moving into leadership roles and then explores how to help you succeed when making the leap to leadership or management. From building relationships to managing time wisely to improving communications skills to making better decisions you’ll find it here. This is a practical book that can be read, studied and applied in today’s fast paced world of work. There are at least five reasons you should read this book if you are considering making the transition from a technical role to the management and leadership ranks; or, if you are a manager planning to promote technical persons into the management ranks. 1. The boundaries between the technical arena and the management arena are increasingly blurred as organizations shed layers of management. Technical folks are expected to have many of the “soft” skills associated with leadership. 2. Many times the technical expert or engineer must interface with outsourced service providers, so are in effect de facto project managers and need many of the same skills as managers in their organization. 3. More technologically complex processes and businesses require managers to be technical experts, yet these same people who are also filling management roles may not be effective leaders or managers. 4. To succeed in leadership or management at any level in the organization, one must be able to deal with both tasks and people. 5. There are more openings now for managers and leaders with literally tens of thousands baby boomers approaching retirement.
About the Author
Davis M. Woodruff grew up on a family farm in rural southern Alabama. His family also owned and operated a "country store." From this background he graduated as valedictorian of his class at Marion Institute, earned an engineering degree from Auburn University, became a Professional Engineer (PE) and Certified Management Consultant (CMC). He was a manufacturing executive with 3M for ten years prior to forming his management consulting company, Management Methods, in 1984. He is an internationally recognized consultant, professional speaker and author who made the transition from technical expert to successful leader. He has served clients in 35 states and on 3 continents as a management consultant. Davis also authored Taking Care of the Basics: 101 Success Factors for Managers and has written dozens of published articles. Davis has been married to Lynn since 1970 and they have two daughters, two sons-in-law, two grandchildren and one dog. He is actively involved with his family, in his community and in his church where he teaches a Bible Study class of adults each week.
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