Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Elementary, Mr. Watson: Cultivating a Culture of Collaboration

About three years ago, I wrote a column, “PCB Design—It's a Team Sport,” which discussed the importance of collaboration and working as a team. At that time, we were under restrictions due to the COVID pandemic and were coming to grips with our new roles and struggles as PCB designers. I opened my column by stating, "Our entire industry had to reinvent how we did things. It's during the difficult times the most valuable lessons are learned." While 2021 seems like another lifetime ago, those lessons still linger.

We well understand the importance of collaborating and having roles on a team. But now I’ll suggest a different approach, dovetailing into what I started back in that summer column. Sure, it's easy to say that PCB design is a team sport, and we should "all play nice" and get along, but it's easier said than done. How do we advance a culture of collaboration with our team specifically related to the PCB design process? Furthermore, how do we handle problem-solving as a team when things don't quite work out as planned? Because you know that happens, no matter how hard we try sometimes.

Cultivating a Culture of Collaboration
I was raised on a farm in the back hills of the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania, and we lived and died by this principle of cultivating. Each spring, there was a long list of tasks: preparing the soil and planting the seeds, watering and fertilizing, and weeding day in and day out without seeing an immediate return on our investment. One day, tiny sprouts would begin to pop up, yet we knew the work wasn’t done. Once fall arrived, it was time to harvest. Cultivating takes time and persistence. It's hard work to bring a team together and keep them that way.

The same applies to your design team: Unlocking their potential will take as much effort and persistence as possible. You have to keep going even though you may not see immediate results.

Building a collaborative culture in a PCB team starts with establishing a solid foundation based on the three "Ts" of collaboration:

Trust
Trust is the cornerstone of any successful collaborative effort. Without it, team members are less likely to share ideas, take risks, or support one another. Trust also relates to team members' confidence and belief in each other's reliability, integrity, abilities, and intentions. Trust falls apart when it’s not the foundation on which everything is built. It's also crucial because it underpins effective teamwork, communication, and problem-solving.

Transparency
This involves open communication and the free flow of information. It ensures all team members can access the information they need to contribute effectively. It relies on a concept of establishing open communication channels: Use tools and practices that facilitate open communication, such as shared documents, regular updates, and open-door policies.

Tolerance
The concept of tolerance has many different meanings in our society. In collaboration, our meaning is mutual respect, which is a fundamental aspect of healthy relationships, whether in personal or professional contexts. It refers to recognizing and appreciating each other's dignity, worth, and boundaries. In essence, mutual respect involves treating others with consideration, kindness, and understanding while expecting to be treated in the same manner. It comes from the fact that we all are in the same boat, going through the same problems and issues.

Each of these principles are intertwined. Removing just one concept causes everything to unravel, like pulling on a hanging thread from a knitted sweater.

The Leaders's Role in Setting the Tone
There is a saying in Asian culture, "A fish rotes from the head down." The same is true for leaders. The leader plays a critical role in establishing and maintaining a collaborative culture. Influential leaders model the behaviors they wish to see in their teams and create an environment that supports collaboration, encouraging the three "T" of trust, transparency, and tolerance.

In addition, the leader's responsibility to set clear goals and expectations is a fundamental practice for effective leadership and team collaboration, particularly in an engineering group. Clarity in goals and expectations provides direction and ensures that all team members are aligned and working towards a common objective.

Clear goals should adhere to the SMART criteria: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

• Specific: Goals must be well-defined and unambiguous. For instance, instead of a vague goal like "Improve the PCB design process," a specific goal would be, "Reduce the PCB design cycle time by 20% over the next six months."
• Measurable: Goals should have clear metrics to track progress and determine success. That could involve setting milestones, such as "Complete the schematic design and initial layout by the end of the first month."
• Achievable: Goals must be realistic and attainable, considering the team's resources and capabilities. Setting overly ambitious goals can lead to frustration and demotivation. For example, "Design and test a prototype PCB for the new wearable device within three months," is challenging yet feasible.
• Relevant: Goals should align with the broader objectives of the project or organization. This ensures the team focuses on what truly matters, such as, "Ensure the PCB design meets the company's standards for power efficiency and size."
• Time-bound: Establishing clear deadlines creates a sense of urgency and helps prioritize tasks. For example, "Submit the final PCB design for manufacturing by the end of Q2."

Unlocking Potential Through Shared Problem-solving
Murphy's law is breathing down your neck during the PCB process; it’s just waiting. Be assured that when things go wrong, they go very wrong, and they’re usually on full, public display. You might as well have a town crier ringing a bell and shouting, Hear ye, hear ye, a mistake has been made on a PCB design."

Rebuild the three "Ts" as quickly as possible.
I guess it’s human nature, but some gravitate automatically to the negative. They only want to focus on things that can or do go wrong, which makes it difficult. You can have a perfect record, but once you make a single mistake, that is what's remembered.

You cannot start to rebuild the first principle of trust while living in that mentality. It's easy to get swept up in the mob mentality. However, half the battle is mental and takes discipline to focus on the solution rather than the problem. Critics are a dime a dozen. Although making mistakes is not an easy thing to go through, how you solve them as a team is what brings out the team’s true character.

Good PCB designers become great designers by working through the problems that arise and learning how to handle them quickly.

Identify the Root Cause
It is not enough to identify the obvious problem; what you see is only the result of the cause. You need to dig deeper and determine the root cause. We have discussed identifying an issue's root cause by using the 5-Whys. You might be shocked that what got identified as a problem was not even close to the root cause. It's essential to find that root. Otherwise, you are only looking at the effects of the causes. Ultimately, nothing gets solved.

Communicate the Changes
Communication is vital to rebuilding trust. It is not a good idea to stay silent. I have found that when someone does not fill in the gaps, especially on something so public and concerning to the team, others tend to jump to a conclusion and fill in the gaps independently. The assumptions are worse than the original problems.

Send the emails, make the calls, and conduct the meetings. Communicate the findings on the root cause and the specific solutions that are put in place to ensure that the problem has been identified and solved.

Use the suggestions I’ve outlined here to create a culture of collaboration based on mutual trust and open communication. It will make all the difference.

John Watson is a professor at Palomar College in San Marcos, California.