DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP ATTITUDES AND SKILLS IN WORKING ADULT TECHNICAL GRADUATE STUDENTS: RESEARCH INTERVIEW RESULTS WITH ALUMNI

Many individuals educated as engineers find their careers take them into management positions. Despite the EAC of ABET program outcome requirements of Criterion 3 for Student Outcomes, few are prepared by their formal education to lead with confidence, and few have been prepared by their companies to develop the skills and attitudes necessary to be good leaders in their organizations. Leaders are needed at all levels in these organizations, not just in the executive suite. Leadership requires not only a set of skills; it also requires an expanded set of attitudes. This paper documents the success of developing leadership skills and attitudes in graduate engineering students who are also full-time working adults in industry, and outlines one proven process for delivering graduate leadership education to engineers. Individual cases based on interviews with alumni are used and explained in the context of their learning experience. It also demonstrates the need to expand leadership education to other practicing engineers who are the emerging leaders in their organizations, provides suggestions for alternative approaches and identifies a resource for self directed study. This paper focuses on results achieved in developing leaders as evaluated through interviews with alumni. While the paper does discuss the classes created and implemented to build leadership abilities and attitudes in students, it does not emphasize the details of the courses, which can be found in the syllabi