The Paradoxical Mindset of Systems Engineers: Uncommon Minds, Skills, and Careers

A guide that explores what enables systems engineers to be effective in their profession and reveals how organizations can help them attain success

The Paradoxical Mindset of Systems Engineers offers an in-depth look at the proficiencies and personal qualities effective systems engineers require and the positions they should seek for successful careers. The book also gives employers practical strategies and tools to evaluate their systems engineers and advance them to higher performance. The authors explore why systems engineers are uncommon and how they can assess, improve, and cleverly leverage their uncommon strengths. These insights for being an ever more effective systems engineer apply equally well to classic engineers and project managers who secondarily do some systems engineering.

The authors have written a guide to help systems engineers embrace the values that are most important to themselves and their organizations. Solidly based on interviews with over 350 systems engineers, classic engineers, and managers as well as detailed written career descriptions from 2500 systems engineers — The Paradoxical Mindset of Systems Engineers identifies behavioral patterns that effective systems engineers use to achieve success. This important resource:

• Offers aspiring systems engineers practical methods for success that are built on extensive empirical evidence and underlying theory
• Shows systems engineers how to visually document their relative strengths and weaknesses, map out their careers, and compare themselves to the best in their organizations – a rich set of tools for individuals, mentors, and organizations
• Offers practical guidance to managers and executives who lead systems engineering workforce improvement initiatives

Written for systems engineers, their managers, business executives, those who do some systems engineering but primarily identify with other professions, as well as HR professionals, The Paradoxical Mindset of Systems Engineers offers the most comprehensive career guidance in the field available today.

About the Authors

ARTHUR PYSTER, PHD is the Associate Dean for Research and a Professor in the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University, and the Director for Strategic Integration for the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).

NICOLE HUTCHISON, PHD, is a principal investigator and researcher in the Systems Engineering Research Center at Stevens Institute of Technology.

DEVANANDHAM HENRY, PHD, is an assistant professor at Regent University where he leads the systems engineering program.