Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/738204
8 The PCB Design Magazine • October 2016 Is your manager one of the great ones, a true leader? Many of your colleagues would prob- ably answer with a pointed "No." Or maybe you're a manager. Many PCB de- signers have moved, sometimes reluctantly, into positions of project manager and CAD manager. So which is it: Are you a leader, or just a manager? Instead of covering a tech topic like signal integrity or DFM this month, we're focusing on leadership, and what it means to be a leader and manager. This topic came about after seeing re- plies to our surveys over the last year or so. In some of those reader surveys, we asked, "What is your biggest challenge?" Every time we posed that question, we received replies that I would paraphrase as, "Management doesn't know what the hell they're doing." Some com- ments are much more colorful and emotional. Let's face it: A bad manager can make your job hell on earth. Now, PCB designers are known to complain (I'm kidding, somewhat), but we also see this kind of comment from PCB fabricators, assem- bly providers, and suppliers. It turns out that a wide variety of technologists in this industry cast a jaundiced eye toward their management. Naturally, we started this venture with an- other survey, this time to the subscribers of all three of our magazines; the results can be found on page of this issue. Open-ended questions of- ten provide us with some of our best insights into our readers' challenges, and this time was no exception. by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 Leadership vs. Management THE SHAUGHNESSY REPORT