Maintaining Effective Engineering Leadership explores process as a means of maintaining leadership development. The author argues that engineering leadership is the result of the development of four fundamental concepts: personal managerial skills, self-leadership skills, operational leadership skills, and organizational leadership skills. Each is explored in turn, and examples are taken from the space shuttle Columbia disaster to show the importance of these processes and skills, and what can happen when they are ignored.

The book introduces the Capability Maturity Model which provides organizations with appropriate processes and knowledge guidelines to ensure effective leadership to avoid such disasters. Topics covered include: a good process gone bad – setting the stage with the Columbia disaster, the importance of process, leadership is guiding a process-oriented organization, maintaining vigilance for product and the need for change, the financial impact on process and operations, how do we change – what do we need to do?, individual capability, recommendations for process and capability in today’s industries.

This book is essential reading for engineers with a management focus (and vice versa) and will find a place on the bookshelves of engineers to use in the continuing development of their personal leadership skills.