CEO
The Spiritual Side of Quality
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The Voice, May 2005
Not so long ago, I was approached by a trade association to do a presentation at an upcoming conference. They were aware of my books and some of the things I have done at previous conferences, but their request was different. They wondered if I might do a workshop session on the notion of Quality in the Workplace. Always looking for ways that I might grow through teaching, I agreed.
For the next few weeks I went to the literature to read up on the notion of quality and excellence in the workplace environment. As you might imagine, I looked at the classic works, as well as the more popular literature. All the things I reviewed, though helpful, were not particularly exciting or novel. I knew that my audience would be rehabilitation and human service administrators and upper level managers. I was sure they would have been familiar with the ideas of Quality Circles, TQM, and the like. I wanted to do something that would touch some different buttons.
After more reflection, I decided to look at the spiritual side of quality. I developed a simple framework and off I went to Kansas City, the site of this conference to explore this notion.
The afternoon of my workshop, I walked into a roomful of some 75 administrators. They were sitting alertly in the lecture style room and without much fanfare, I asked them to get out a sheet of paper. I then posed a simple question: “Please write down on your paper, all the elements in your workplace that you feel create, enhance or lead to quality?” I told them to consider things that existed, or that they wished existed that were related to quality. I gave them 10 minutes to work on this task privately.
As they worked, I prepared some flip charts and enlisted a scribe from the audience to help with the processing. Soon we were ready to begin. As randomly as is possible with such a large group, I proceeded to ask these administrators to offer the first item on their list for our collective list. The items began to pour out. In no time we had collected some 70 items on the flip charts and newsprint decorated the room. With these items publicly displayed, I then asked the audience to consider a triangle I wrote on the blackboard. At one point of the triangle I wrote the word “Mind”. The next point I wrote, “Body”, and at the last point I wrote, “Spirit”. We explored each of these themes as it relates to the worksite. For the notion of the “mind”, we considered all the things that are related to the knowledge base or intellectual aspects of our jobs. Books, articles, computers and other elements that keep us conceptually focused to our mission were identified in the definition for the “mind”. Next we looked at the “body”. All the physical or material things that relate to the worksite were considered. This included things like office space, desks, parking spaces and the like. Finally, we explored the notion of the “spirit”.
Here we thought about the relationship and human side of our work settings. Things like chances to get to know each other, feeling welcomed and respected were reported.
The next task for the workshop was to take our 70 items and put them into one of these three categories. Again, given the size of the group, we used a consensus approach to this task, but the results were stunning. Of our 70 items, 11 were classified as “mind”, 9 were in the “body” category and 51 were considered to be “spiritual”. More than 70% of the items critical to this group of administrators were things relating to relationships and human interactions. Now if that wasn’t enough, the final task was to cost out our 70 items. That is, as best as was possible, we tried to ascribe a dollar figure to the item. How much it might cost to acquire? I’m sure by now you can guess the results. “Body” items were most expensive, with “mind” items right behind. The least expensive items relating to quality, were those of the “spirit”. Indeed, for many items, there was no cost at all.
This exercise and experience was telling for me, and most of the folks in the workshop. It seems that most of us think that to achieve a higher quality in our workplaces, we must be prepared to pay for them. We think that the more stuff our workers have, bigger offices, more books, better computers will lead to a higher workplace quality, when the real answer is quite the opposite. A more qualitative workplace is right before our eyes, if we choose to reach for it. Indeed, it is found in the “hellos” and acknowledgement and inclusion that folks feel when they are welcomed and valued. It develops when people are honored and thanked and respected.
These are simple, yet elegant conclusions. Most of us know these things. Isn’t it time we come to learn them?
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