Pat Townsend & Joan Gebhardt
EXCLUSIVE ONLINE COLUMNISTS

Generally speaking, being in charge of an organization's quality process is the second-best job in the organization--second only to being the president or CEO. Your job puts you in the middle of everything positive that is going on; you get to see all aspects of the company; and the people you deal with are frequently on a real high due to having just made yet another improvement.

However, unless you are in one of the few companies where virtually all senior managers "get it" when it comes to quality, there are going to be some problems from time to time. The ugly side of quality is defined by, and occupied by, an easily identifiable set of senior managers. As you go about your business of helping everyone in the company to improve everything they do, you'll encounter some or all of the following:

Some managers will be sure that you are after their job and that's why you applauded the people in their department who made improvements. As a result, they will subvert your efforts at every quiet little chance. Trying to convince them that you are not after their job is a waste of time; their ignorance on this point will be invincible.

Some managers will think you are being negative because you keep identifying "problems." For these people, what you are pointing out (or helping others to understand) are not opportunities for improving the product or service that the department provides; these ideas represent indictments of their abilities as a manager.

Some managers won't understand that there is a big difference between giving permission and being committed; between knowing the slogans and understanding the process. They'll memorize a few good phrases and they'll stay out of your way but they won't be any help. If asked by an outsider, they will excitedly proclaim their support for the quality effort.

 Some managers will actually say things like, "Saying 'thank you' isn't part of my job." The implied decision is that, "I have only worked for impersonal jerks who never acknowledged what I did so why should anyone else have it any better?"

Some managers will talk loudly about how "We should be able to drop this quality program once we make it part of everybody's everyday job"--and believe it. Such a belief is, of course, analogous to a Christian saying, "Well, a few more Sundays and I'll have this religion and right-living down pretty good, so I won't have to bother with any of the formalities like church-going any more."

Some managers' interest in the quality effort will vary inversely with the physical distance between them and the company president; the smaller the distance at a given moment, the greater their interest--at that moment. As the distance increases, their interest decreases.

Some managers never will figure out the difference between a quality program and a quality process. They'll make a joke of their lack of knowledge and actually think that people find it endearing.

Some managers will never find the time to attend a quality team meeting--their own or anyone else's. If questioned, they will explain patiently that they had "real work" to do. Aside from the basic lack of courtesy involved and the not-very-subtle insult to you, these managers are proving that they failed to come to grasp with the most elemental thought: Quality is not something you do in addition to your "real work," it is how you do your work.

So long as they stay a distinct minority and do not include the top manager in the organization, these "ugly" managers can't stop the process. In most cases, they will eventually get run over by the process and quietly leave the organization. Some will finally see the light and, like all converts, will join the ranks of the truly zealous. If the uglies gain the majority--or they win over the boss to their way of nonthinking--the quality professional's best response is to polish up his or her resume.

A question for readers: Do you know any other behavior(s) that identifies a manager as a "quality ugly"? Please let us know. If there are a few, we'll add them to next month's column; if there are a bunch, we'll devote an entire column to them. To send us your comments, click on the "E-mail Authors" tab next to our pictures.

About the authors

Pat Townsend and Joan Gebhardt have written more than 200 articles and five 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); and How Organizations Learn: Investigate, Identify, Institutionalize (Crisp Publications, 1999).