Shifting from engineering manager to leader

Engineers face the multiple transitions from engineer to manager to leader.  The most challenging shift is the one from manager to the role of leader.  The engineer as project manager moving to department manager or the office manager moving to regional manager - - you need to understand that mastery of your function, organizational know-how, the ability to build and motivate a team - - are no longer enough.

Michael Watkins outlines the required leadership transition skills in his excellent June 2012 Harvard Business Review article - - How Managers Become Leaders.  Watkins narrows the transition to what he calls the "seven seismic shifts" - -

1. Specialist to Generalist - - Understand the mental models, tools, and terms used in key business functions and develop templates for evaluating the leaders of those functions.  Engineering struggles with #1 - - which is a huge problem.  The education of an engineer is basically a process in which you learn everything about nothing (granted our leaders in Congress appear to have learned nothing about everything).  If you cannot make it past #1 - - you have a big problem.
2. Analyst to Integrator - - Integrate the collective knowledge of cross-functional teams and make appropriate trade-offs to solve complex organizational problems.  The engineer that can move from analysis to synthesis - - from breaking things apart to one of putting things together - - has an important skill set on the road to leader.
3. Tactician to Strategist - - Shift fluidly between the details and the larger picture, perceive important patterns in complex environments, and anticipate and influence the reactions of key external players.  For a profession all about the details - - engineers struggle with seeing the forest.  We seem unable or unwillingly to let go of the trees.
4. Bricklayer to Architect - - Understand how to analyze and design organizational systems so that strategy, structure, operating models, and skill bases fit together effectively and efficiently, and harness this understanding to make needed organizational changes.  We don't get architecture, but we get effective and efficient - - which is a big help.
5. Problem Solver to Agenda Setter - - Define the problems the organization should focus on, and spot issues that don't fall neatly into any one function but are still important.  We do problems - - our heart and soul is about the problem.  Leadership is about the question - - we need to get better at the questions (both in the context of leadership and things like climate change and sustainability).
6. Warrior to Diplomat - - Proactively shape the environment in which the business operates by influencing key external constituencies, including the government, NGOs, the media, and investors.  Diplomacy, tact, and forbearance are not words one normally associates with engineering.  Engineers see the world in terms of black and white - - but the reality of our complex globalized world is much more a shade of gray.  Leadership is all about understanding the grayness of our organizations and world.
7. Supporting Cast Member to Lead Role - - Exhibit the right behaviors as a role model for the organization and learn to communicate with and inspire large groups of people both directly and, increasingly, indirectly.  A huge problem for most engineers - - the words communication and inspiration don't automatically come to mind when you think engineer.