But the comments that had the greatest urgency focused on finding engineers who can solve technical problems and people problems, too. Turns out you need the technical capabilities to be taken seriously as a leader, but you need empathy and communication skills to be trusted for people to follow you. That kind of leader is in very short supply. I’ve been focused on solving this problem for a long time. In fact, I’m writing a book profiling specific coaching clients who were technically smart but emotionally challenged, and who have made huge gains in caring about people, delegating, and communicating.Why them and not others I’ve coached? If I gave everyone the same instruction, why were these people successful at changing behavior?
I’d love to hear your insights on what it takes for technical people to learn empathy and people skills.
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