Having dealt with and presented aptitude diagnostics for engineers in general in the PREVIOUS PART of this series of topics, this part is devoted specifically to engineer-specific characteristics, i.e. the question of whether there are characteristics that typically define an engineer. Likewise, the question naturally arises as to whether there are characteristics and, if so, which ones are responsible for career success.
In doing so, it is necessary to identify both the personality traits that remain stable over the course of an engineer's career and those personality traits that develop extremely in relation to age and hierarchy. Only then can reliable statements be made about so-called typical engineer characteristics and also about the development of characteristics that are responsible for a successful career, a climb up the career ladder.
The basis for this was the approach of looking for personality traits that do not change across all hierarchical levels. These would be characteristics in which the engineer still rates himself equally highly both as a career starter and as a manager.
If the hierarchy is used as a basis for comparing the different characteristics, it becomes clear that personality traits such as reliability and the ability to cooperate hardly change at all over the course of a career. However, issues such as perfectionism and planning for disruptions are also personality traits on which engineers adopt the same attitude throughout their career.
The characteristics in Table 7.1. and Figure 7.1. represent the development from the lowest to the highest hierarchy level, which show the least change. These characteristics are therefore least influenced by the climb up the career ladder. It can therefore be deduced that the characteristics shown are those that are characteristic of an engineer - from the perspective of climbing the career ladder, i.e. the development over time during their career - as they hardly change.
With regard to personality traits
- Ability to cooperate,
- Sense and commitment,
- Planning for incidents,
- Irrational assessments,
- Perfectionism and
- Reliability
the attitude of engineers does not change and the conclusion suggests itself that with regard to these personality traits the saying applies: engineer remains engineer.
In the search for personality traits that are responsible for development and advancement on the career ladder, the researchers looked for the traits that undergo the greatest changes over the course of an engineer's career. To this end, the results of engineers as specialists, project managers, department heads and division heads were compared with each other. It was found that there was a continuous development in the personality traits concerned across all hierarchical levels, so that it is sufficient to look only at the lowest and highest hierarchical levels.
A look at the personality traits with the greatest changes from the lowest to the highest hierarchy level is shown in the table and diagram below. Examples of this are leadership tasks or willingness to take responsibility.
These characteristics (Table 7.4. and Figure 7.3.) show the greatest changes in the development from the lowest to the highest hierarchy level.
For example, the major change in interest in management tasks appears to be eminently important for successful development on the career ladder.
It can therefore be deduced that the characteristics shown are those that hold the greatest development potential for an engineer - from the perspective of climbing the career ladder, i.e. the development over time during their professional career - as they change the most.
By comparing the development fields / potentials that emerge from the perspective of a temporal development ("hierarchy" cluster) and the other, time-independent clusters, i.e. static differences in the individual norm profiles, the following results emerge:
Table 7.9. shows a breakdown into the 1st order dimension "Professional interests" and the 1st order dimensions "Commitment " and "Communication" . The former, as the name suggests, symbolizes interests. It is well known that interests are something that cannot be directly influenced, but are formed and shaped intrinsically.
In the course of their career, engineers develop interests that are awakened as they climb the career ladder and continue to unfold until there is a clear difference in the characteristics in the comparison of the standard profiles "specialist" and "business manager".
The situation is different with the characteristics of the other two first-order dimensions "Commitment" and "Communication": they represent areas that can be changed through training and further education. They can therefore contribute to further advancement.
As part of personnel development, personality traits and areas of interest should therefore be
- Management tasks,
- Marketing,
- Consulting,
- Sale,
- Personal initiative,
- Willingness to take responsibility,
- Enthusiasm and
- Persuasiveness
are particularly emphasized, treated and further developed.
In summary, it can be said that for a successful career, it is not only the constant personality traits that are important, but also the traits that develop further during the career. Only if both are taken into account will the chance of a successful career as an engineer be maximized.
The next article on the subject of aptitude diagnostics deals with standard and best practice profiles. These are needed to mirror every aptitude assessment. Do you know how norm profiles and best practice profiles are compared?
Image source:
Betz, Armin: Eignungsdiagnostik im Praxiseinsatz - "Ingenieur bleibt Ingenieur", German National Library, 2015, pp. 165, 169, 174, ISBN 978-3-00-052093-8
About the author
After studying automotive engineering and industrial engineering, he began his professional career in the automotive industry in the areas of sales, development and marketing and also spent a year in Japan with one of the largest automotive suppliers.
He then moved to a globally renowned premium car manufacturer, where he was responsible for product marketing in Japan and South America and for marketing strategy in North and South America.
In 1994, he decided to become self-employed and founded a personnel consultancy in Munich, where he has been driving development and expansion for over 20 years. As Managing Director, his industry focus is naturally on the automotive world as well as mechanical and plant engineering.
His doctorate in the field of aptitude diagnostics ideally rounds off his areas of expertise, particularly with regard to personnel and management consulting. The dissertation deals with the identification and verification of typical personality traits of engineers as well as the definition of development areas for a successful professional career.
These are scientifically derived and presented in the book "Eignungsdiagnostik im Praxiseinsatz".
At the same time, his focus is on the development of networks and cooperation models as well as the continuous further development of systems and processes in personnel consulting.
Over the last 20 years in personnel consulting, he has developed several brands that are still operating successfully on the market today.
