Most people would like to do a good job with the work that they produce. Irregardless of what they are producing, each person has an innate desire to be appreciated for what they are doing. Each person, because of this desire, would also like to be heard from if something in the process they perform is off for them. If they are not heard from, their production will generally worsen over time.

A good leader will not only listen so that each contributor might be heard, they will even seek to engage each contributor proactively along the way. The good leader will judge the process first and not the person. A good leader will watch and foster the process as the contributor see’s and experiences it and not as a superior to another. A good person in a bad process can never win over time.

As a leader, it is our responsibility to engage to discover the best process for the accountable contributor and to continually evolve together with one another. Seek to hear and to be heard, regardless of position to the benefit of the process, knowing that change is inevitable as time progresses.

“Quality comes not from inspection, but from improvement of the process.” — W. Edwards Deming —

MITM #999