The purpose of this article is to review leadership. The theme, Out of the Chaos, is a tribute to “Out of the Crisis” by Deming, and how that influenced quality.
The starting point is that we are currently in a state of chaos due to many internal and external challenges in 2023. This includes pandemics, technologies, radical extremism, societal changes, and the overall destabilization of our societies. Leadership is necessary and essential to the success of the quality profession.
Chaos is perpetuated by the increased presence of the “trifecta” of destructive practices: bullying, persistent failures, and false narratives. When leadership roles are granted or assumed through aggressive or bombastic methods, the expected performance will suffer. Rather than addressing these persistent failures constructively, false narratives and vacuous excuses will be attempted to rationalize the substandard outcomes. For these reasons, more inspired and enlightened modes of leadership selection and execution are prescribed for optimal results, and to counter the destructive effects of this trifecta.
How do we get out and stay out of a state of chaos?
The way out will depend on three answers:
- Who will lead us?
- Where will we go?
- How will we get there?
Below is a summary, which I can elaborate for a larger manifestation of this topic.
Who
Five generic criteria are provided for selection, to filter out undesirable or problematic candidates:
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Personally trustworthy based on accountability and integrity.
This ensures moral rectitude and filters out:
- Dilettantes who won’t take this endeavor seriously.
- Miscreants corrupting the processes and resources to serve themselves.
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Personally proficient in quality arts and sciences.
This ensures adequate capabilities and competencies and filters out:
- Novices who are simply not ready.
- Misfits who will disrupt using improper conduct.
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Personally adhering to and advocates of quality and operational excellence
This ensures committed professionalism and filters out:
- Rogues who block or obstruct the quality leadership
- Disruptors intending to instill competing agendas within the quality function.
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Respectful and constructive interactions with team members
This ensures harmonious interactions and filters out:
- Agitators driving conflict and controversies for their amusement.
- Antagonists resorting to mockery, belligerence, and disparagement.
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Capacity to succeed, improve, and extend outcomes
This ensures the potential for continuous growth and improvement and filters out:
- Overwhelmed with prevailing commitments, restrictions, or limitations to their ability to serve.
- Laggards who resist changes or enhancements, operating solely to achieve minimal levels of compliance.
Where And How?
This is something that can be segmented into three phases.
Phase 1: Chaos to Compliance Path:
Chaos> Collisions> Conflict Resolution> Controls> Compliance
Leaders move team members along the path progressively. If controls are not effective, nor instill compliance, return to conflict resolution
Three levels: Participation
- Below Minimum: Wanderers - random and individualistic with prevailing personal agendas
- Steady State: Watchmen - passive but diligent observer of rules and standards
- Ideal: Champions - positive advocate of controlled quality outcomes
The method is to build and encourage champions and watchmen to bring wanderers under control. The target is to overcome chaos by setting controls, and ensuring compliance.
Phase 2: Compliance to Cohesion Path:
Compliance> Collaboration> Confirmation> Cohesion
Leaders move team members along the path progressively. Building on a series of successful initiatives, the team takes on an identity.
Analogy is that you have a field and the items figuratively represent what others seek from you, or want to take from you, or what you are willing to give.
Three levels: Exchanges
- Below Minimum: Mushrooms - demand basic items
- Steady State: Berries - extend current capabilities
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Ideal: Fruits - stretch to provide inspired expertise
The method is to rise above basics (a.k.a mushrooms) to respectfully request greater contributions. The leader respects and honors subordinates by indulging their stretch targets and building their capabilities.
The target is to continue building upon compliance with repeated successes toward team cohesion.
Phase 3: Cohesion to Consummate Performance Path:
Cohesion> Craftsmanship> Consummate Performance
Leaders move team members along the path progressively. Building on team cohesion, the scope and prestige of work grows, emerging toward perfection.
Analogy is that you have a workshop and the items figuratively represent what others demand from you.
Three levels: Interactions
- Below Minimum: Drop-Offs - One-way direction
- Steady State: Restorations - Two-way mutual collaboration
- Ideal: Refinements - Creative endeavors.
The method is to rise above basic tasks with one-way directions (a.k.a drop-offs) to respectfully engage team members as partners and experts. The leader advances and inspires team members when creativity and breakthroughs are pursued.
The target is to leverage cohesion with expanded capabilities toward team consummate performance.
Having reviewed the progressive phases, the original criteria can be revisited as being necessary prerequisites for inspired leadership.
1. Personally trustworthy based on accountability and integrity.
This trait is necessary to ensure:
- Adherence to controls and compliance by personal example
- Reliability for collaborations and trust for cohesion
2. Personally proficient in quality arts and sciences.
This trait is necessary to ensure:
- Legitimacy of conflict resolution and suitability of controls
- Improvement of collaboration to quality ideals.
3. Personally adhering to and advocates quality and operational excellence
This trait is necessary to ensure:
- Legitimacy of controls and monitoring of compliance
- Alignment of confirmations to quality standards.
4. Respectful and constructive interactions with team members
This trait is necessary to ensure:
- Fewer collisions, better conflict resolution, resulting in lessons learned and reinforces commitments to quality and its ideals.
- Engagement to ideal performance of brethren, stretching their capabilities and capturing their wisdom and expertise for craftsmanship.
5. Capacity to succeed, improve, and extend outcomes
This trait is necessary to ensure:
- Collaborations and cohesion are built upon current performance and future expectations.
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Consummate performance, founded upon inspired visions.
To summarize, a state of chaos is the default mode unless our leadership inspires the team members and travels with them toward more elevated states. This approach is built on a foundation of integrity, respect, and competency. The path toward perfection is incremental, depending upon the engagement and inspired support of the majority of team members and participants.
