An exploration of the attributes of engineers who reach top management positions in high technology companies located in the Huntsville, Alabama region

In high technology companies, the proportion of corporate executive positions held by engineers appears to be significantly lower than the proportion of the overall workforce made up of engineers. This research investigated whether there are any specific characteristics that differentiate engineers who reach top management positions from their contemporaries who do not. Prior related research suggested that engineers who have achieved executive status possess a certain well-roundedness, sometimes described as the Whole Person concept. Since a current definition for the Whole Person was not located, the evolution of the Whole Person concept from ancient Greece through modern day was traced, the components of a present day Whole Person isolated, and the Whole Person defined. The definition has four components: education and training, physical standards, ethics and morals, and community service. Prior research also suggested a difference exists between the Myers-Briggs personality profiles of engineer executives and the engineer population in general.; Specific objective questions were formulated to assess the Whole Person profile and the Myers-Briggs personality profile for the engineers who were executives (Group 1) and contemporary engineers (Group 2). Fifty engineers with similar backgrounds, 25 in each group, were interviewed. Metrics were collected for each individual and then combined to formulate statistics for each group. Analysis revealed a difference between the two groups with regard to the Whole Person profile but no significant difference in Myers-Briggs profiles. The engineer executives had more management and leadership education than their non-executive counterparts as well as a higher overall physical fitness level. The highest degree of separation between the two groups occurred in the ethics component. These results should assist engineers seeking to become executives by providing some direction for career development and life decisions.