This advice is for new and growing supervisors and managers, and it is valuable for scientists, engineers, and technicians as well. As a leader of a project or a group, large or small, it is critical to realize that one of your key functions is to enable the people on the team. To effectively provide them with the resources and support to be successful, you need to consider that you work for them, not the opposite.
This may seem surprising to some, but it is more important and valuable to consider yourself in this way because the team members will see you as supporting them. Consequently, they will more likely be forthcoming about what they need from you to achieve success.
If you think that advancing to a leadership role means that people work for you, I suggest the opposite. You work for them, and you live to that standard will increase the success of the entire enterprise.
David Morse has served as Corning’s executive vice president and chief technology officer since 2012. Morse is responsible for managing Corning’s innovation portfolio and creating new growth drivers for the company. Prior to his current position, he served as senior vice president and director, Corporate Research.
Morse joined Corning in 1976 as a composition scientist in glass research. In 1985, he was named senior research associate and charged with establishing the Optical Components Research department. In 1987, he was named manager of consumer products development. He became director of materials research in 1990, and then moved through a series of technology leadership positions in inorganic materials and telecommunications before joining Corporate Research in 2001.
Morse graduated from Bowdoin College magna cum laude in 1973 and was granted a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976. He is a member of the M.I.T. chapter of Sigma Xi and the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Morse chairs the McDonnell International Scholars External Advisory Committee at Washington University in St. Louis, and is a member of the Corning Museum of Glass Advisory Board of Trustees, and the Corning Foundation Board.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of their employer or the American Chemical Society.
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