Quality Professional of the Year Q-Cast
PODCAST | How to be an Exceptional Quality Professional
Image courtesy of Ben Tomic / Graphics by Darryl Seland
Our 2025 Quality Professional of the Year has nineteen competencies listed on his CV as well as 50 skills listed on LinkedIn—if you’re looking for a certified quality engineer (CQE) or an AS9100 lead auditor, you’re in luck—but also stresses the importance of emotional intelligence. Here, Ben Tomic shares his insights from a long career in quality.
Michelle: Is there anything else you would say to people who are, you know, kind of reading this and thinking like, Oh, I want to get to where he is today.
Ben: Yes. So for those who are aspiring to know more in the quality field or to learn more about quality, I would definitely recommend, first of all, preserve certification. For certifications, professional certifications, such as those offered by ASQ, are invaluable. These credentials validate experience, enhance credibility, and open doors to new opportunities. I hold 12 ASQ certifications, including CQE, Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Quality Auditor, Certified Manager, Quality Organizational Excellence, and all Six Sigma and other certifications as well. And they played a vital role in advancing my career, for sure.
That's first advice. Second advice would be commit to lifelong learning. Quality’s are an ever evolving discipline. Staying important about emerging trends such as digital transformation, sustainability, and AI driven quality systems is essential for remaining relevant and effective in the field. So be curious, seek new knowledge and adapt to the changing landscape. Also, what's very important, what I have found very important, is to develop leadership skills. While technical expertise is crucial, it is ability to lead, communicate, and inspire others that drives true transformation. So great leaders foster collaboration, build trust, and motivate teams to achieve extraordinary results. Also, another advice would to be involved in professional organizations so affiliations with organizations like ASQ as we just talked about providing incredible opportunities for networking, skill development and making meaningful contributions to the profession. So these communities have been a cornerstone of my career growth and offering platforms to exchange ideas, connected to the global quality network.
And probably my last advice would be always work on and improve your emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is an often overlooked but critical component of success in life. So the ability to understand, manage and empathize with others emotions can be the difference between conflict and collaboration, resistance and acceptance, or weakness or excellence. So by practicing active listening, showing empathy, and building strong relationships, you can create environments where trust and innovation thrive. So emotional intelligence transforms technical expertise into meaningful, sustainable impact. So, by embracing these principles, you can, I mean, the person seeking a career in the quality field can not only grow in their career, but also make a lasting difference in the organization, community, and the inequality profession as a whole.
Listen to the Full Podcast Here:
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