Observations of an engineer who has managed both technical and nontechnical employees

Summary form only given as follows. Engineers aspiring to management may find management opportunities outside of traditional engineering organizations. It is very likely staff in organizations outside of engineering will have backgrounds other than engineering. The engineer as manager must understand and appreciate those other backgrounds in order to effectively manage the organization. The engineer as manager must avoid trying to turn those organizations into engineering organizations and trying to turn the staff into engineers. The engineer as manager must recognize and encourage the skills necessary to accomplish the organization's mission.