Top management Commitment:

Top management participation and complete involvement is essential in the total quality programme. The management commitment should be clearly visible through their acts and deeds. A Quality Council must be established to develop a clear vision, set long term goals and direct the quality programme. The short and long term business plan shall include the quality goals. An annual quality improvement programme is to be established on the basis of Collection of inputs from every stakeholders of business. Managers also get involved in quality improvement teams and provide leadership. Leadership is essential during every phase of the implementation process and particularly at the start.

Leadership

There is no universal definition of leadership. A leader strengthens and inspires the followers to accomplish shared goals. Leaders shape the organizations values and promote, protect and exemplify it.

An organizations seniors leaders should set directions and create a customer focus, clear and visible values, and high expectations. The directions, values and expectations should balance the needs of all the stakeholders. The leaders should ensure the creation of strategies, systems and methods for achieving excellence, stimulating innovation and building knowledge and capabilities. The values and strategies should help in guiding all activities and decisions of the organization. Senior leaders should inspire, motivate and encourage all employees to contribute, to develop and learn, to be innovative and to creative.

Seniors leaders should serve as role models through their ethical behaviour and their personal involvement in planning, in communications, coaching, development of future leaders, review of organizational performance and employee recognition. As role models, they can reinforce values and expectations while building leadership, commitment, and initiative throughout the organization.

Characteristics of quality leaders

Leadership can be difficult to define. However, successful quality leaders tend to have certain characteristics. There are many characteristics that successful quality leaders demonstrate.

• Priority attention to external and internal customers and their need
• Empower, rather than control, subordinates.
• Emphasize improvement rather than maintenance.
• Importance to prevention.
• Encourage collaboration rather than competition.
• Train and coach rather than direct and supervise.
• Learn from problems.
• Continually try to improve communications.
• Continually demonstrate their commitment to quality.
• Select suppliers on the basis of quality, not price.
• Establish organizational systems to support the quality effort
• Encourage and recognize team effort.

Seven Habits of Highly effective People

Stephen R. Covey found the following seven habits of Highly Effective People. A habit is the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. Knowledge is what to do and Why; skill is the how to do; and desire is the motivation or want to do. In order for something to become a habit we have to have all the three.

1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first thing first
4. Think win-win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergy
7. Sharpen the saw ( Renewal)