Beyond Professionalism: Can a Good Engineer Make a Good Political Leader?

Abstract

There has been an established myth of stereotype traits which good political leaders must possess, but which unfortunately as interpreted by many, are generally lacking in a typical engineer, making him unfit for such positions. In this paper, reflections and justifications why engineers are fit for leadership positions were made. It discusses some of the engineering potentials like creativity, drive for implementation of concepts, the strength behind an introverted nature, and social responsibility and how it can be adapted for leadership position. It compares and contrasts engineers and scientists as far as leadership are concerned. The summary of the findings is that a good engineer can make a good political Leader.

Keywords: Engineer, Professionalism, Political leader, Potential