Technical and management notes: The technically-oriented personality in management

This article offers practical insights into the technically-oriented personality by briefly discussing several developmental, educational, and work experiences which are often common to such people. It deals with the classic dilemma faced by people who provide a technically-specialized service to an organization when they must choose between the management route or the technical individual-contributor route of career development. Five important areas (covering skill and personality variables) which should be reviewed and analyzed by a person faced with such a choice, and which should be considered by those responsible for decisions concerning such people, are discussed. Finally, the article offers several suggestions for those who manage other technical professionals. Although the emphasis of this article tends to focus on the newer manager, these observations have wide applicability across all managerial levels.