Published by Scott Neilson on 06 Jul 2010 at 02:32 pm
Discussion: Who makes a better business leader, a technical expert or a business professional?
Who is better at leading a technically oriented business; a person trained in a related technical area or a person trained in business? The raging debate continues. Which do you think is best and why?
In my industry, drug development services (the D side of R&D), there seems to be a never-ending debate over the skill set required for business leaders. The question is, what is the best educational background, technical (meaning scientific – Ph.D. in some related area) or business (meaning a specific business degree such as Finance or Marketing, or an MBA)?
First, here are some clarifications. In this case we are talking about:
- GM and CEO positions (senior leadership roles);
- businesses that are established, not in the start-up phase;
Weigh in with your thoughts! I will try to keep track of them all and try to distill the responses into some overall conclusion.
kathy holtzer on 06 Jul 2010 at 5:00 pm #
Scott,
Perhaps, the ‘best leader’, whether technical or business, is someone who is emotionally centered, analytical and has courage!
Kathy
Ivo on 06 Jul 2010 at 6:39 pm #
Hello Scott,
I believe that people with a business background are better prepared to be better leaders in the GM position. Business schools teach how to work with people (motivate, communicate with, handle problems etc.) and they also provide students with a better strategic orientation.
Insight into the problem-area is important, but I am afraid that a supreme education (e.g. Ph.D.) could lead to a “inside-of-the-box” kind of thinking.
PS: Weren’t MBAs originally intended for people with non-business background in order to create the best leaders with a right combination of deep business and “technical” background?
Benny on 07 Jul 2010 at 5:29 pm #
Scott:
I tend to agree mostly with Kathy, a centered person is the best leader. However, the business leader tends to be more successful from what I have seen (Bill Gates the exception). GE soared under the leadership of Jack Welch, who could not build a jet turbine engine, a refrigerator or manage a mutual fund. Business leaders that have the acumen and personality that fits their organization are most likely to succeed.
claire M on 08 Jul 2010 at 6:43 am #
Hello all
From my opinionboth can be leaders as long as they know their strengths and their weaknesses to surround itself with pertinent experts
A pure technician cannot easily navigate in the world of Business and financial expert but as underlined by Benny the professional of the business could be limited on R & D projects due to the lack of expertise and lack of background knowledge.
Saying that and as Kathy highlighted, the human being must remain the center to enable the leader motivating the team to reach the objectives. The only leader can nothing without the commitment of the entire team
claire
Seth on 08 Jul 2010 at 5:18 pm #
So I got my degree in Management Information Systems which at my engineering heavy school was part of the College of Business. I’d like to think with a Bachelors of Science and not only an educate but a career in a technical field I’ve got a unique perspective on the subject matter.
If I was the head of a large and well established organization and I wanted to pass the torch to someone, who would I trust to do a good job? I feel like I would lean towards someone more technically savvy but with the proper business experience or academic badges, for example a Doctrine in Electrical Engineering with a recently (within ten years) acquired MBA.
I feel like the dedication and thought process involved with going through a grad school program for a PhD would be the same kind of passion I want to see leading my organization. The MBA or business experience would be secondary, as the leader you drive the organization and your board will make sure you’re well informed on the business end.
Domenick Naccarato on 12 Jul 2010 at 5:45 pm #
I think a good business leader is going to rely on technical experts to help make informed decisions. So with that mindset, I don’t believe you have to be some sort of technical guru to be a good business leader… of course it couldn’t hurt if you had some technical background.
Bob on 23 Jul 2010 at 9:11 am #
A good discussion. One necessary leadership skill that has been put forward by pretty much every leadership expert I’ve every heard is competence (or some version there of), specifically refering to the knowledge, experience, and skills needed to get things done. What those things are varies with the specific position and industry.
In a technical industry, a leader must have both some level of relevant technical knowledge/experience and some level of business savy, the balance of which varies with the needs of the position and company. For example, a GM may have a greater need for a techical background to understand, manage, and overcome the techical challenges the company is trying to overcome (drug development, testing, trials, etc…). In the case of a CEO, a more business oriented background may be advantageous so they can position the company better to meet changing needs or opportunities outside of the company in the overall industry and market environment.
Bob