-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueOpportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
Manufacturing Know-how
For this issue, we asked our expert contributors to share their thoughts on the absolute “must-know” aspects of fab, assembly and test that all designers should understand. In the end, we’re all in this together.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
The Shaughnessy Report: Leadership vs. Management
October 31, 2016 | Andy Shaughnessy, PCB Design007Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Is your manager one of the great ones, a true leader? Many of your colleagues would probably answer with a pointed “No.”
Or maybe you’re a manager. Many PCB designers 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 replies 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 comments 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, assembly 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 another 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 often provide us with some of our best insights into our readers’ challenges, and this time was no exception.
Here is Question 1, followed by the top responses and the percentage of respondents who chose each.
What are the three most important traits and skill sets of a great leader today?
- Ability to inspire others – 72.7%
- Empowerment of employees – 47.7%
- Integrity – 40.9%
Inspiration is the big winner here. Almost three-fourths of respondents want a leader who inspires them. They want to be inspired—they need to be inspired, or they’ll leave a job. That’s one of the most common points we hear regarding millennial staff.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the October 2016 issue of The PCB Design Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Connect the Dots: Best Practices for Prototyping
09/21/2023 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsPCB prototyping is a critical juncture during an electronic device’s journey from concept to reality. Regardless of a project’s complexity, the process of transforming a design into a working board is often enlightening in terms of how a design can be improved before a PCB is ready for full production.
The Drive Toward UHDI and Substrates
09/20/2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamPanasonic’s Darren Hitchcock spoke with the I-Connect007 Editorial Team on the complexities of moving toward ultra HDI manufacturing. As we learn in this conversation, the number of shifting constraints relative to traditional PCB fabrication is quite large and can sometimes conflict with each other.
Asia/Pacific AI Spending Surge to Reach a Projected $78 Billion by 2027
09/19/2023 | IDCAsia/Pacific spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI) ), including software, services, and hardware for AI-centric systems will grow to $78.4 billion in 2027, according to International Data Corporation's latest Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide.
Intel to Sell Minority Stake in IMS Nanofabrication Business to TSMC
09/13/2023 | IntelIntel Corporation announced that it has agreed to sell an approximately 10% stake in the IMS Nanofabrication business to TSMC. TSMC’s investment values IMS at approximately $4.3 billion, consistent with the valuation of the recent stake sale to Bain Capital Special Situations.
RAF Invests in BAE Systems’ Most Advanced Fighter Pilot Helmet
09/13/2023 | BAE SystemsThe UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded BAE Systems a contract to develop its Striker II Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fleet. The contract, valued at £40m, will create and sustain more than 200 highly-skilled jobs at BAE Systems’ sites in Kent and Lancashire working directly on the Striker II programme. In total, the Typhoon programme sustains more than 20,800 jobs across the UK.