All Quality Professionals are leaders and should be developed as such. Very few quality professionals are merely along for the ride. On almost every journey, they are either navigating or driving.

They provide navigational expertise to development teams by ensuring processes are adhered to, post-market surveillance information is incorporated, and they keep an eye out for compliance gaps leading up to design reviews/stage gates.

During continuous improvement and CAPA activities they are driving the initiative by vetting evidence to support the problem statement, checking the viability of planned actions and measuring success towards the goal.

During audits and inspections, they drive successful outcomes throughout the event by managing preparation, execution, close-out, and follow-up activities.

In these scenarios (and many more), they must feel competent, confident and empowered to speak up and show the way. They need to know the requirements, be willing to provide direction, and have your support.