Institution news
Eddie will be leading two of the following workshops at Essential Management Skills 2018:
- Making cultural connections
- “Problems, problems…the solution is out there"
He shares his thoughts on the challenges engineers face in becoming a manager, how can these be overcome and what he is looking forward to at the event.
Q: What are you most looking forward to by leading your workshop at Essential Management Skills 2018?
Eddie Winton (EW): Interacting with and inspiring the participants to go and find out more about the topic and thereby continue their personal development.
Q: What transferable skills will delegates gain by attending your workshop at Essential Management Skills 2018?
EW: Culture Sessions: Will help those engineers who attend to apply empathy and insights gained to work more effectively with colleagues from differing countries and cultures.
Problem Solving Sessions: Will allow engineers to use their natural leaning towards process and order and combine it with some structured techniques which, paradoxically, generate possible solutions from different perspectives back in their everyday roles.
Q: How can we mitigate the engineering skills gap?
EW: Gender issues aside, I feel by making engineering a separate subject from an early age in all schools and also providing government grants (or other assisted means) to encourage more people to study engineering at University or College.
Q: How important are management skills for the career development of engineers?
EW: No matter whether an engineer is a manager or not the soft skills covered under the term ‘management skills’ are key for anyone who has to work with other people. In various ways such skills as influencing, negotiating, communicating, inspiring, trust building etc…all lead to more cohesive and productive teams of engineers.
Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge for engineers keen to go into management and how can this be overcome?
EW: Remembering that once they have management responsibilities their role is much less about technical/engineering issues and more about people issues. They need to learn to step back from ‘getting their hands dirty’ tasks some – although not all – of the time. Working on their ability to delegate and being clear about what makes a manager effective are the keys.
Find out more
Eddie will be speaking at Essential Management Skills 2018 on 18–20 April in Coventry. This three-day event will equip engineers with the skills required for success within line and project management roles. Delegates can also take the opportunity to gain a Level 3 Award in First Line Management, awarded by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
New for 2018:
- Delegates can take the opportunity to gain a Level 3 Award in First Line Management, awarded by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
- Industrial site visit to Bombardier Transportation
- Updated workshop programme covering key aspects of management including Making Cultural Connections, Stand Out From The Crowd; How To Make Yourself Unique and How Do I Lead When I’m Not Their Manager?
For more information, visit the Essential Management Skills 2018 website.