Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes
I’ve been devoting the last several articles to author and blogger Tanmay Vora’s recent book, #QUALITYtweet
The Equation of Outcomes
The purpose of leading greatly is to generate high-impact results for the organization, its people, clients and their clients. In the equation of high-impact results (especially in the highly knowledge oriented world of work), two most important factors are people and how they are led.
Leadership creates an environment for people to work. It is therefore very important for leaders to reflect on the environment they are creating. I read somewhere that the only legacy of great leaders is the culture they create. Thoughts and deeds of a leader set examples and precedence for others to follow and emulate. Long after a leader is gone, these examples and precedence stay on.
Culture of a team or organization forms an eco-system for people to deliver great results. Hence, culture is at the very core of a quality oriented culture.
Importance of Reflection
Over the years, I have seen leaders who lead by their instincts and leaders who are reflective.
When instincts drive leadership, leaders form a culture in accordance with their personal values. Culture is oriented around “What I think is right”.
When leaders are reflective and carefully think about impact of their actions and thoughts on the organization or team and alignment with values and vision of the organization, they form a culture oriented around “What is right for the organization and its customers”.
When a team starts doing things that are right for the organization and its customers, they automatically start building a customer focused quality culture.
How it Impacts Quality
Thinking leaders also understand the importance of process in forming a quality culture of the organization. They choose to be process-centric without losing focus on people. They understand that if they want to build anything memorable, they have to respect the power of process.
Tanmay Vora heads Quality Assurance & Testing at Gateway Technolabs based in Ahmedabad, India. He speaks and consults on software quality assurance and publishes the QAspire Blog where he writes about quality and leadership issues.
