Let's start with a blunt statement so we all know what we agree on: For any manager or executive in business today to not
know that quality--if done even near correctly--has a positive impact on the bottom line constitutes intentional stupidity. There is simply too much proof, too many easy-to-find examples, and too
many changes in the behavior patterns of the managers or executives in their own personal purchasing for this quality stuff to be a mystery or a surprise. That said, the fact
is that a discouraging number of managers and executives haven't figured it out yet. Perhaps they've been put off by the fees that many "quality consultant" firms charge. Perhaps they've focused
on the significant few failures and ignored the large number of quality success stories. Or, more likely, they've figured out that quality is hard to do and will require some learning and some
growing on their part. They will, for instance, have to let go of the "management" rock they've clung to for years and start swimming to that "leadership" rock a fair distance upstream. But what can you do about it? You're the head of the quality department (or section, or unit, or office, or desk); you've had some successes in the company, but some people
still refuse to accept the ideas. They don't fight you overtly, they just ignore you. Here, continuing with the blunt approach of this article, are your options:
* Challenge them openly.
At a senior staff meetings, ask: "Chris [for example], why don't you sign on with this quality process? Your people tell me that you've told them they don't have time for any meetings." This probably isn't a good idea, to be honest. If Chris weren't doing at least some things right, the boss would likely have already introduced him/her to a good out-placement professional. Plus, you can bet that Chris has done just enough (probably including something that morning) to be able to deny your basic allegation. And you will make a career-long enemy as well as putting every other executive and manager on notice that you are willing to squeal on them, too.
* Assume your colleagues are rational adults.
Just keep working with the ones who do "get it." The bet here is that there will come a day when the performance of the units led by quality enthusiasts will very obviously outshine the performance of those managed by quality laggards. At that point, the quality laggards may just finally figure out that they've missed a good deal. If they continue to blind themselves to the differences in performance between theirs and the quality units, two more things may wake them up: their turnover rates and other indicators of morale will be so out of step with the quality units that the boss won't be able to ignore it, or their people will demand to know why they aren't accorded the same opportunities to make changes and to be thanked as those in the quality units.
* Overwhelm them with information. This is a variation of the previous option in which the underlying thought is that quality-hesitant people are rational adults. In fact,
because leaders tend to "get" this quality thing a lot more quickly than managers, the odds are good that the folks who are slow to catch on fall mostly in the "manager" category and are, thus,
heavily rational in their approach to their jobs and their subordinates--with little or no emotional component coloring their workplace relationships. By giving them a continual stream of
articles, stories and examples (which you're also passing on to your quality-savvy colleagues, who will enjoy seeing that they aren't alone and who may be picking up ideas on how to improve their
own efforts), you may win their intellectual consent. That's a start. * Have their immediate boss order them to "do quality."
"But, wait," you might say. "I want volunteers. I want people who come to this stuff willingly." Sure, that'd be nice. But that's not the hand you drew--and, unless you're prepared to brush up your résumé and move on, you're required to play the hand you have. Petitioning their bosses to order them to do something isn't all bad--assuming your relationship with these bosses is such that an approach like this is not just possible, but a sure thing.
Behavior can precede conviction. In fact, it usually does. All of us make conscious, rational decisions to do certain things--from our diets to particular work process
sequences--to find out if we like them that way. Once we are convinced that the change is good, it becomes part of our normal routine. Oftentimes we decide to stay with a new activity for
emotional reasons (e.g., it "feels good," or people say "thank you" a lot when we do it), or we may be convinced to continue for rational reasons (e.g., determining that this quality stuff really
does make money). Exactly why your previously reluctant manager or executive now embraces the company quality process is no big concern. What counts is that he or she is now doing the right
things. Emotional commitment will come on its own. And that, after all, is all you can really assess--whether or not she or he is doing the right things.
Why a specific individual is or is not an active practitioner of quality is not your concern. Motivation is personal; performance is public. Perhaps the central lesson of all
of this (and of last month's column) is that a quality professional must often do a bit of a balancing act, carefully nudging folks along the path toward fuller involvement in the effort. In
order to be effective, we must treat our reluctant executives and managers the same way we recommend they treat their subordinates: by assuming that they are functioning adults who, once they
have the opportunity to do the right thing, will do it. About the authors Pat
Townsend and Joan Gebhardt have written more than 200 articles and six books, including Commit to Quality (John Wiley & Sons, 1986);
Quality in Action: 93 Lessons in Leadership, Participation, and Measurement (John Wiley & Sons, 1992); Five-Star Leadership: The Art and Strategy of Creating Leaders at Every Level
(John Wiley & Sons, 1997); Recognition, Gratitude & Celebration (Crisp Publications, 1997); How Organizations Learn: Investigate, Identify, Institutionalize
(Crisp Publications, 1999); and Quality Is Everybody's Business (CRC Press, 1999). Pat Townsend has recently re-entered the corporate world and is now dealing with
"leadership.com" issues as a practitioner as well as an observer, writer and speaker. He is now chief quality officer for UICI, a diverse financial services corporation headquartered in the
Dallas area. E-mail the authors at ptownsend@qualitydigest.com. |
