An engineer or technical professional may have great technical skills, but do they have the communications and business acumen necessary to cut it in today’s corporate world? On 27 October, The ROI of Investing in Your Team’s Leadership Development virtual event highlighted how the IEEE | Rutgers Online Mini-MBA for Engineers and Technical Professionals can help corporate employees bridge the gap between business and engineering as they prepare to mature into leadership positions.
IEEE subject matter experts and the Rutgers University Business School teamed up to create this unique program to help engineering professionals throughout all stages of their careers, including directors, managers, individual contributors, team leaders, and mid-career employees. The IEEE | Rutgers Online Mini-MBA is the only Mini-MBA program specifically designed for teams of engineers and technical professionals. The program is entirely online, meaning participants don’t have to travel or miss work, which makes it an ideal way for busy working professionals to learn. Through the program, technical professionals develop:
- A foundational understanding of courses traditionally taught in MBA programs, such as accounting, business communication, business ethics, finance, managerial economics, management, entrepreneurship, marketing, operations, and strategic management.
- An understanding of how organizational decisions are made from both operational and technical points of view.
- Knowledge on how various teams within an organization can better work together to meet goals.
- How to leverage their new business skills in order to align their technical know-how with business strategy.
“The reason I joined this course was to get a better understanding of ‘the other side’,” said Sohaib Sheikh, a technology associate at the largest commercial property development and investment company in the United Kingdom. “Being an engineer, our world mostly revolves around technical elements and sometimes it is a bit hard to break the ceiling and move towards the management side without first understanding their concepts, jargon, and processes. This course was well-structured to give us a taste of the world outside of the engineering realm and has helped me get a better understanding of various other dimensions associated with our business products.”
How do Organizations Benefit from the Program?
Without a sound understanding of cross-disciplinary concepts and the ability to work in multi-functional teams, a professional’s technical expertise alone isn’t enough for long-term career success, or to move their organization forward. Unfortunately, many engineers and technical professionals lack these vital skills. What’s more, many organizations aren’t doing enough to train them, and the consequences are telling. Employees who feel their career goals are being sidelined are 12x more likely to consider leaving their jobs, according to LinkedIn Learning.
However, by investing in leadership development for employees, organizations can retain their best talent. According to a 2015 Society for Human Resource Management survey, 78% of workers said having a clear career path would encourage them to remain at their jobs in the long run.
Engineers and technical professionals may not have a formal education in business, but with the right training, there’s no reason they can’t move to the next level, and make their organizations more successful in the process.
Watch The ROI of Investing in Your Team’s Leadership Development On Demand
As the world shifts to a “new normal” that has both new industry-wide challenges for all businesses as well as more engineers working remotely, being able to adapt to a changing work environment is more important now than ever. Professionals who specialize in engineering and technology management must master cross-discipline concepts and contribute to multifunctional teams. Although technical expertise is vital, it alone is not enough for long-term career success.
Watch the free on-demand webinar, The ROI of Investing in Your Team’s Leadership Development, today to learn how easy online access to leadership development for your team is essential to drive sustained success.
Resources
How Learning Programs Attract and Retain Top Talent. LinkedIn Learning.
This article is really informative at the current time. I appreciate your work, hope to see more in the future.
I am interested and would like to give this course my best shot.
Personally such an opportunity leaves me with no excuse to participate in transformational leadership endeavours and influence growth wherever Iam.