Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1278896
30 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2020 is my team. Surround yourself with people who are better and different than you are. This takes many forms—diversity, intelligence, ex- pertise in different areas, etc. I like to use the example of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. They had the leadership of coach Phil Jackson. They also had Michael Jordan—who seemed to know how to play the game—and Scottie Pippen as the second option, who was nearly as reliable. Additionally, the team had Dennis Rodman, who played a very specific role—re- bound and disrupt. John Paxson and Steve Kerr were the outside threats in their various areas. That team's dominance during that de- cade was undeniable. When you have a high-functioning, focused team—one where each player knows their pri- mary role, performs it well and has a broad skill set to contribute in other areas—it is amazing what can be accomplished! So, add a team of strong, talented players to support each other to your leadership toolbox. Consider the Drive This is the final trait I would like you to consider, and one area in which I believe a leader is well-suited to make a direct impact. Drive consists of these elements: unrelent- ing push for an objective and a sense of ur- gency to make a change. But be sure to exer- cise caution here; driving full force down the path that leads off a cliff is leadership, but it is not good leadership. Use your team to con- sistently make course corrections as required by changing conditions. Assuming you have confidence about the path forward, and a cer- tain level of bullheadedness to make change happen, drive is another tool that should be used to smash through barriers keeping your group from success. Humility, team, drive—there are likely many other equally worthy attributes we would want in our leadership toolbox, but these three are pretty important to me. PCB007 Dr. John Mitchell is president and CEO of IPC. To read past columns or contact him, click here. what it means to be a successful leader under the um- brella of discussing IPC's Certified Electronics Program Manager (CEPM) Training and Certification Program, which was converted to an entirely online platform in 2017. Read the full article, and learn about this program by clicking here. by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team In the August 2020 issue of SMT007 Magazine, we published an interview with Susan Mucha, president of Powell-Mucha Consulting, and Carlos Plaza, IPC's direc- tor of education development. Mucha and Plaza discuss IPC's Program Manager Training Certification Course Goes Digital Susan Mucha Carlos Plaza