WORDS TO LEAD BY - Quality

We are continuing our lessons from Wally Adamchik's book titled Construction Leadership from A to Z.

His book explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is QUALITY

QUALITY

Quality - high grade; superiority; excellence

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't." - Martin Van Buren

W. Edwards Deming may have said, "Quality is everyone's responsibility," but it is the leader who establishes and communicates the standard of quality desired.

Margins are tight and will remain that way. When you look at the profit and loss statement for any business, there isn't a line for rework. Quality is the key. It is the ante in the game of business. High quality has multiple payoffs. It means less waste, less rework, fewer rejections, fewer complaints and fewer returns. All this leads to lower costs and higher productivity.

William A. Foster put it this way: "Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

Quality breeds quality. Aristotle told us that excellence is a habit.

"...inspect what you expect." He required us to be where quality was happening - to go out and see the job from a quality perspective and an end user viewpoint. "Leading quality" was another cryptic term he used.

"One of the rarest things that a man ever does is do the best he can." - Josh Billings

Quality Jumpstart

• Measure / track / record / display critical success factors.
• Raise your standards. What was good enough yesterday isn't good enough today.
• Communicate the new standards.
• Facilitate a discussion at work to define quality for your team.

How many times have we heard, read and even said, "There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over"? The quality of our work is not controlled by our Quality Control Department, it is controlled by each of us and the decisions we make daily. Can we honestly say that we did our best today? Let's choose to improve quality today and every day!

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

Good Housekeeping Promotes Safety

Good Safety Housekeeping Practice

Housekeeping is everyone's responsibility and it requires all of us to keep the workplace clean, tidy and organized to make it safe to work in.

A clean work area free of debris and clutter is critical to maintaining a safe work environment. Housekeeping is a continual effort, but one where the rewards are far greater than the effort.

Good housekeeping promotes safety and also indicates a level of professionalism in the work area. Effective housekeeping requires you to:

• Organize your work area and equipment
• Keep your work area clean and clear of rubbish.
• Roll up hoses after use
• Clean up spills
• Store things in their proper place
• Keep walkways clear, floors and access-ways unobstructed
• Regularly dispose of rubbish in bins provided

Poor Housekeeping Promotes Problems

Poor housekeeping leads to a variety of accidents, injuries, damages and problems:

• Slip and trip accidents occur when tools, equipment and scrap materials (i.e. damaged pallets and cages) are left lying on the ground, in corridors and walkways. Cluttered work spaces and spills that not cleaned up immediately leave room for only injuries.
• Splinters, cuts and eye injuries occur when metal filings and dust from chemicals are not cleaned up on top of work benches or trailers. Serious injuries can occur when sharp or damaged objects are left in walkways and not reported for repair.
• Crush injuries occur when unstable stacks (i.e. pallets stacked unevenly or too high) or overburdened storage shelves collapse.
• Time is wasted because tools, equipment and freight are always being moved and re-arranged.
• Serious injury or death can be caused by damaged or broken objects and when people are trying to evacuate a building or access way and emergency exits are blocked off or obstructed.

A cluttered, untidy and disorganized workplace is difficult for everyone to work in and does not encourage quality work.

Benefits of good housekeeping are:

• Less risk of accidents and injuries;
• Less risk of fires
• A more organized workplace and less time wasted trying to find tools, equipment and materials.

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

WORDS TO LEAD BY - Power

We are continuing to share lessons this year from Wally Adamchik's book titled Construction Leadership from A to Z.

His book explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is POWER

POWER

Power - ability to do or act; having the capability of doing or accomplishing something

"Lions don't need to roar." - Debra Benton

Power moves us from potential to action.

Al Gini, co-founder and editor of Business Ethics Quarterly, writes, “To have power is to possess the capacity to control or direct change. All forms of leadership must make use of power. The central issue of power in leadership is not ‘will it be used?’ But rather ‘will it be used wisely and well?’”

A person has the potential for influencing five bases of power over another. Researchers John French and Bertram Raven identify these:

1. Coercive Power - Effectiveness based on fear.
2. Reward Power - Compliance is achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable.
3. Legitimate Power - Authority a person holds due to his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization.
4. Expert Power - Influence based on special skills or knowledge.
5. Referent Power - Influence based on possession of desirable resources or personal traits.

So power essentially comes from one of two places: the position (reward, legitimate, expert) or the person (coercive, referent, expert). Both are important. But what we must recognize is that power really comes from action. It is what I do that really matters and adds to or decreases my power. In reality, a leader obtains the best results by skillfully combining positional power and influential power in his life.

"Power consists of one's capacity to link his will with the purpose of others, to lead by reason and a gift of cooperation." - Woodrow Wilson

Power Jumpstart

• Explain, don't demand.
• Be diligent about using rewards and punishment.
• Cultivate allies / win enemies over.

We all have power of one form or another, and we all exert power at one time or another. So, the phrase "I'm powerless to change things" is simply not true. However, to fully realize this power requires action. What action can you take now to make things better tomorrow for yourself, your family and your co-workers? Let's choose to exercise our personal power wisely today and every day!

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc