People Skills for Engineers

Book excerpt: Do you feel disconnected from the other engineers you work with? Are personal interactions often uncomfortable, adversarial, or just plain weird? Or, do you know your people skills need help, but you're unsure of where to start?WARNING: Failings with people can be the undoing of even the most talented technical team.Drawing on more than sixteen years of experience working alongside other engineers, Tony Munson provides a foundational set of people skills every engineer should possess in order to avoid--and resolve--relational problems before they have a chance to impact your personal effectiveness.These problems include but are not limited to:- Feeling isolated and disconnected from others.- Problems with management or co-workers.- Poor performance at interviews or meetings.- Interaction regret or wishing you would have behaved differently in personal interactions.- Inability to properly lead and motivate others.Don't learn the hard way, through repeated failures, when your career is on the line! People Skills for Engineers can help fill in the gaps in this crucial and often underdeveloped engineering skill set.Here's what others have to say about People Skills for Engineers:"People Skills for Engineers reminds us that being a technical leader isn't about what you do, but how you do it. Tony asks readers to take an introspective look at the kind of engineer they are today and shows them how improving communication skills can get them to the next level. Throughout the book he creates an introvert-friendly Human Interface API, pulling advice from great authors, real leaders, and his own experiences." -- Tiffany Greyson, Computer Engineer"In People Skills for Engineers, Tony breaks down how our relationships effect our success as individuals and as an organization. He then outlines practical and concrete ways to become a better engineer, team member and leader by increasing our effectiveness with people. He brings to the surface common mistakes that are potentially holding us back and provides ways these mistakes could be prevented or repaired. I think that the information Tony lays out in this book could help anyone seeking to improve themselves; not only as a team member but as an engineer; no matter how far into their career they are." -- Arthur Putnam, Software Engineer"I instantly recognized some 'difficult engineer' behaviors I was guilty of myself. Tony gives real-world, practical advice that you can use to start improving yourself right now . It was both enlightening and motivating when he highlighted all of the things you could be leaving on the table by not improving these important skills." -- Derek Wade, Mechanical Engineer