We’re wrapping up our series on ISO 9001 compliance and beyond. In case you missed the first three parts, you can head to the AeroMed blog to read them in full.
A common theme in this series has been that both compliance and excellence are the responsibility of every person in your organization. However, as with any lead-by-example scenario, quality begins with executive leadership in a way that’s actionable and consistent.
Being Consistent on All Accounts
The consistency element is one that trips up a lot of business leaders. That’s because when you’re working toward ISO 9001 certification, you spend a great deal of time at the drawing board, thinking and planning and testing and executing.
But you also need to be able to recognize opportunities “in the moment” with or without data staring you in the face. You can take those opportunities back to your ISO 9001 quality lab for further examination and study their effects on your organization. But in order to do so, you have to recognize them first.
Achieving Authentic Executive Buy-In
Embarking on any type of quality management revolution feels too much like extra work. It’s another thing to be managed, another thing to crowd an already-too-long to-do list. But ironically, all of this extra work should actually make things easier to manage and ultimately create less “work” once your processes are up and running.
To get to this level requires authentic executive buy-in. This means adequately preparing for management review meetings and making real contributions that go beyond appearances. Managers that are not engaged in the process and simply show up to meetings through facetime are not genuinely committed to the cause. Of course, this also means that they have little ground to stand on when requesting genuine commitment from their teams.
Getting buy-in from all leaders, even those not directly involved with establishing quality parameters, is the only path to move beyond compliance. Quality should be embedded in their mindset and their leadership style so that it doesn’t get treated like an afterthought.
Engineering Your Leadership for ISO 9001 Success
Executive leadership sets the tone for quality management success. They reflect the vision, mission, and values of the company. They develop the standards for quality governance and the conditions for success and share those responsibilities all the way down the ladder.
Naturally, moving from compliance to excellence is a feat far bigger than any one person should bear. It takes the whole enterprise to achieve an ROI from your investment in quality management. Like a stone rolling down a hill, starting at the top will give you the necessary momentum you need to make real progress for all the right reasons.
AeroMed Group companies have achieved ISO 9001 compliance and have experienced firsthand the complexities and intricacies of achieving excellence beyond compliance. Being mindful about decisions and the why behind them can help you better manage your transformation and keep holistic excellence in the foreground.
