[548swimmer]

I feel that one of the most important skills for a leader to have is the ability to keep everyone working well together. This year we ran in to issues with simple things like sensor mounts. No one told the CAD team that the sensor in question (a gyro I think) was even going to be used until late in the season so no mount was designed. A good leader would make sure everyone knew that sensor needed to be mounted far enough ahead of time so that it could be designed in.

From a mechanical standpoint, I want a leader who will keep things moving. The time to prototype is in the offseason (if you can call it that), not during week 3. The leader needs to decide when to make a call, and then make a call at that time.

In general, a great leader must be humble. Let's say for example that your average mechanical guy was your new build leader. Now, instead of worrying about whether to use a panhead or cap screw he has to coordinate electrical, CAD, programming, and fabrication. A great leader woud, in this instance, admit that he can't program or wire an electrical board and appoint a "cabinet" if you will. While he doesn't necessarily need to be "hands-on" with everything, he should have a general idea about what's going on.