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72 The PCB Magazine • October 2017 STEVE'S PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS (TO BECOME A WORLD-CLASS QUALITY MANAGER) through direct authority. The charismatic lead- er inspires the best from others, and one of the best measurements of a quality manager is the performance of those that he influences. Get- ting results through others is the key trait of a manager, and getting results through others en- thusiastically and willingly is the key trait of a leader. This requires charisma—the ability to lead others who want to follow. 2. Political savviness Organizational politics exist in any compa- ny, and to claim to not get involved in them is both fruitless and foolish. From the 50-employ- ee mom-and-pop shop to the Fortune 500 com- pany, office politics are a part of life. The key is to both acknowledge and manage it. The abil- ity to play nice with others is a skill that will serve you well not only in business, but in life in general. This extends to customers and sup- pliers; I have known more than a few quality managers who made a career-limiting decision because they didn't consider the political im- plications. 3. Sense of humor Humor is a character of strength, and as Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of get- ting along with people, of getting things done." The mastery of when to use it appropriately, and just as importantly, when not to, differentiates an adequate from a world-class quality manager. Humor can put people at ease, foster trust, and diffuse a difficult or contentious situation. Use it wisely! 4. Practical business sense It is often said that engineers and quality folks don't have an appreciation of cost, and this is certainly a fair critique. The successful quali- ty manager needs to balance the best interests of the customer with the best interests of the company, and cost can be an important consid- eration. Just as engineers sometimes overdesign a product, quality managers sometimes don't consider the financial implications of their de- cisions. Most times there is more than one way to do the right thing. Decision-making with a cost/benefit mentality is key to the success in the quality manager position. 5. Marketing mindset Today's quality manager, along with every manager, must wear a sales hat along with their functional hat. What I mean by this is, every decision a quality manager makes must be made through the lens of the customer. How will this be perceived? What light does this put my com- pany in? Can I make this into a win-win? These are all questions that the quality manager needs to think through on every decision. 6. Innate understanding of human nature Having a working knowledge of human na- ture, behavior and psychology will be the differ- ence when negotiating a successful resolution of a difficult situation. Like playing chess, you must always be three steps ahead of the other person, and to do that in business you need to anticipate reactions and plan counter reactions. Whether working with an internal employee re- sponsible for scrap, or with your customer on a product warranty issue, your skill level on this will determine the outcome. 7. Ability to convert tribal knowledge Tribal knowledge is the entirety of a com- pany's expertise, experience, tricks of the trade, and idiosyncrasies of the job that have been learned by employees that may not be captured anywhere. Why is this on the quality manag- er? It's not—it is on everyone, but the quality manager is on point here. Driving the organi- zation to implement best practices is clearly a " The ability to play nice with others is a skill that will serve you well not only in business, but in life in general. This extends to customers and suppliers. "