Where Do Good Managers Come From ?? Does your company pick managers from those who have been successful at engineering projects ?? This approach seems a bit unfounded when you consider that tomorrows challenges will certainly be different than yesterdays. Also, people who are still developing may not have all of the characteristics of today's best managers.

Good Managers Aren't Born With All The Skills They Need !! Good managers have the ability to learn from a job, but they develop only with experience. Engineers need training to become successful managers. If they make a mistake, promising engineers will still take action and commit to positive results. When criticized, they learn and improve. They see company problems as an opportunity to improve work quality. Good managers grow through involvement.

How Can You Get Management Experience ?? An easy, low risk, way is to become a leader in the Hartford Section of the ASME. By helping to organize a monthly program, you'll build communications skills, learn to motivate others, and be responsible for a substantial budget. Experience in organizing events will hone your judgement and teach you how to organize your time. Although the demands of ASME are sometimes challenging, wouldn't you rather have the first test of your leadership skills not have an effect on your next raise ??

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Good Manager ?? Join the ASME Hartford Section Executive Board by organizing a plant tour or arranging for a speaker for a dinner meeting. The management experience you'll gain for the time you'll invest is worth more than any book or academic course !!

Does Someone Work For You Who Would Benefit From The Experience Of Organizing An Event ?? Encourage the engineers whom you feel might be good managers to get their feet wet with ASME. It wont cost your company a dime. The experience will help both you and the employee to find out if "potential" equals "demonstrated" ability.