I became an EM fairly early in my career, and was very aware of how much I didn't know, so I completed an MBA.
It helped with:
- the formal stuff of management; legal obligations, how to fire someone properly, etc.
- leadership training. The difference between leadership and management. What leadership involves, and how to do it well (although a lot of that is down to innate charisma, there are some things we can learn).
- basic management stuff: how to interview someone, how to organise a meeting, how to negotiate.
It was useful. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for everyone; I think I could have got the same benefit from a smaller, more focussed management course. But having an MBA as an engineer definitely leads to interesting places.
It helped with:
- the formal stuff of management; legal obligations, how to fire someone properly, etc.
- leadership training. The difference between leadership and management. What leadership involves, and how to do it well (although a lot of that is down to innate charisma, there are some things we can learn).
- basic management stuff: how to interview someone, how to organise a meeting, how to negotiate.
It was useful. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for everyone; I think I could have got the same benefit from a smaller, more focussed management course. But having an MBA as an engineer definitely leads to interesting places.