Career Advancement Training for the Technical Professional

Professional Development Tips

Volume 3, Issue 2

 - Maximize Your Contributions @Work -

Home | Courses | About Us | Contact | Privacy

Case Study: Outstanding Project Leader

Andy is a Senior Engineer who leads a small team working on an electronic product design.  He is responsible for the design of several electronic subsystems (boards, display assemblies, power supplies, front panel, etc.) and the overall design of the electronics for the product.  His team is responsible for the design of the additional electronic subsystems.  He has a team of electronics engineers helping him with the project, but he is not their manager.

Andy delegated responsibilities to his teammates after the group’s functional manager (Engineering Manager) assigned the engineers to his project.  A Program Manager leads the entire cross-functional project team.  Though he is not a manager (and doesn’t want to be), Andy has significant responsibility for providing team leadership.

Engineers who report to other functional managers are working on different parts of the design such as mechanical assemblies, software, manufacturing tests, etc.  The Program Manager is responsible for the overall project schedule and Andy is responsible for scheduling the design of the electronic subsystems.  In this company, engineering project leaders contribute to the overall schedule in various ways ranging from providing verbal or written estimates to the Program Manager - to submitting a complete, detailed schedule using the company’s project management software for the Program Manager to include in the overall schedule.  Click here to read the complete article.

Want to learn how to perform like Andy, or better?  Enroll in the Leadership Skills for Engineers workshop.

Contacting Us

Case Study: Outstanding Project Leader

A role model for technical team leaders.