Leadership—Essential for Developing the Discipline of Statistical Engineering

Global competition and information technology are forcing changes in all aspects of how we operate organizations around the world. These forces are also having profound effects on how statistical thinking and methods are used and the roles of statisticians and quality professionals. We have argued that statisticians and quality professionals can deal with the rapid change taking place by using statistical engineering to identify and solve large, unstructured, complex problems. We show that enhanced leadership skills are needed to take advantage of the benefits of statistical engineering because of the required major changes in organizations that are typically associated with such problems. The purpose, benefits, and use of leadership in a statistical engineering context is discussed and illustrated. It is concluded that by becoming stronger leaders, statisticians and quality professionals will increase their impact on the organizations that employ them as well as enhance their personal reputations and that of the profession.