Can Total Quality Management be Effective in Education?

Can Total Quality Management be Effective in Education?

Total Quality Management has been utilize effectively in industry for decades. Can it also be implemented effectively in the organic world of education? It is not only possible, creating a compelling and engaging process where teachers are involved in the improvement process is essential in education.  Education is a profession driven by emotion, passion, purpose and drive.  One may say that processes and procedures that are standardized would only fit within the operations side of education. Educational leaders can and should embed continuous improvement strategies not only to streamline curriculum and instruction, improve operations, ensure alignment of standards, and design workflow, but it will also improve relationships! They can implement TQM  systems effectively while also successfully collaborating with and allowing others on the team to participate in the decisions making process which builds culture and relationships. Continuous improvement strategies should not be a report but an active ongoing collaborative conversation that truly makes the educational organization and the people who reside in it feel empowered and come alive!

Before implementing processes a leader has to remember that processes need and involve people and people are emotional beings. To help understand this concept let’s look at some of what Disney PIXAR professionals think about when designing their movies to evoke emotion.

Core creative principles that we can all learn from Disney:

1. Know that your STORY is king. (Leaders Communicate Effectively while not losing focus)
2. Utilize the newest available technology to collaborate in an engaging way. (Leaders Model Innovation which drives change)
3. Coordinate the message across the media. (Leaders ensure consistent messages are provided)
4. Have the courage to innovate. (Leaders empower people to take calculated risks)
5. Ride your uniqueness. (Leaders embrace and utilize diverse people to achieve the end in mind)
6. Stay on point. (Leaders always reassess to keep the WHY in sync with the HOW)

Now that we realize we are working with people we can dive into the process.  The process will not be successful without invested people and the people will not be successful without an effective process.  Marrying the process to the people will enhance the systems as well as improve relationships, motivation, and drive.

Core systematic order principles we can draw from Six Sigma:

• Define -What is important?
• Measure – How are we doing?
• Analyze – What is wrong?
• Improve – What needs to be done?
• Control – How do we guarantee performance?

Define the problem: What is the first thing you learned in 5th grade about writing a story? You have to have a hook! Appeal to the emotions of those you are empowering with the decision making capacity to drive change! Make sure the system that you use to define the problem is one that those involved can engage with, grapple with and dive into.  Make them feel a bit off balance and a little uncomfortable. People don’t necessarily like to disaggregate and analyze data, unless it’s personal to them.  We must first make it personal to make it meaningful! When defining the problem we need to ask our people:

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM AND HOW IS IT PART OF YOUR PURPOSE?

Measure: The metrics must clearly define the problem and visually display it. Do not be limited in this step to simple metrics; pin the defects on the wall and display the causes. If a failure causes a catastrophic condition, display visually what that means. Make sure it’s posted high and removes the elephant in the room.  

Stakeholders need to understand that the problem is not a negative thing, it’s the mark towards a positive pursuit to greatness.  They need to feel the anticipation that a runner gets when they hear the words, “RUNNERS TO YOUR MARKS!”, the preparedness and comfort that they move into at the sound of “READY!”, the uneasiness that bubbles up at the word “SET!”, and the jolt of adrenaline that rises at the sound of the gun that says their lane is ready and it’s time to focus to the finish line.

DEFINE THE WHY AND THEY NEED TO STATE THE PROBLEM WITH CONVICTION!

Analyze: Create some drama in analyzing the problem. A typical process here would be identifying the vital few metrics that are important. Create some drama in finding the root cause. Think about how if you don’t find the real problem what may happen what will the results be if you are working on a symptom and not the cause. Make sure that the stakeholders become attached emotionally to the problem and own it! They need to feel that the issue is theirs personally to solve. The race is theirs to win and it’s not a sprint, it’s a long distance relay with important exchanges of the baton at key points that take a team!

CREATE THE DRAMA! ENGAGE THE TEAM WITH EMOTIONS AND EMPOWER THEM WITH A CHOICE!

Implement: At this point, we have taken the story to the critical stage and there has to be a solution. This is where everyone wants to jump in and help. We are all problem solvers but are we all MacGyver’s? We have to find the best answer that addresses root cause and it must be measurable. The key here is that the leader is NOT the hero and those at the coal face of the mines operations are the ones that DEFINE, MEASURE, ANALYZE, and most importantly determine the IMPROVEMENT PROCESS!  This is the critical stage where the leader must facilitate the thinking but empower the choice of actions that will result in the problem being solve.

ASK YOUR TEAM TO ENSURE THEY UTILIZE A PROCESS TO SHOW HOW THEY WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND CONTINUOUSLY DISPLAY THE PROGRESS!

Control: Now, is the time of the story that the problem is solved and life goes on happily ever after. WE all WISH that were TRUE! Can you show and/or prove the results? That is the key.  The solution needs to be measurable.  If you fell flat on your face, prove it and figure out WHY! If you reached the other side of the rainbow prove it and describe how to replicate it!  Without evidence of whether you failed or succeeded improvement will not continue.  If you have failed this is just a new beginning and an opportunity to return to the DEFINE phase and start again.  

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AND HOW DID OR DIDN’T YOU SUCCEED AND WHY?

And

NOW WHAT WILL THE TEAM DO ABOUT IT?

Total Quality Management

Giving up on Hopes and Dreams brings New Possibilities

I recently had the realization that the hopes and dreams I had held onto for many years were not going to come true. This realization hurt but it also helped me to recognize that hopes and dreams are relevant to circumstances and sometimes circumstances are deceiving.  If circumstances, or their clarity, change then hopes and dreams will need to change as well.  Sure, the goals I had formulated and held close to my heart about my professional and personal future may not have been realistic, but that doesn’t mean that dreams are silly and hopeless.  In fact, the realization that these dreams are no longer, and may never have been a possibility, is freeing.  The release of one future has opened the door for me to formulate a new plan and a fresh map of my currently unknown journey. I am excited to venture down a path that will most likely lead to a more productive and satisfying future. 

Having dreams, working for a purpose and setting goals are all great motivators.  However sometimes within the pursuit of these dreams we limit ourselves and our thinking.  Dreams can become hindrances, even blockages, that we pour too much energy into, give things up for, or neglect other responsibilities to achieve.  When we recognized that the dreams we have can actually be holding us back from our true potential it’s only natural to feel disappointment. However, we have to remember that the time spent pursuing an impossible dream was not wasted. Time spent in pursuit of a dream is well spent growing.  We learn lessons through failure, we gain knowledge through planning, and we become stronger through the difficult process of deciding that the dream is no longer healthy or good.  The realization that we must give up on a dream is a tough one. It’s a loss that we may even need to mourn.  It hurts, but through that hurt we change and in the midst of change we often see things more clearly.  In these moments of clarity, we are able to recognize what’s important and that our dream has actually been holding us back.

I am challenging myself to embrace this new freedom, determine a new direction, and develop a new dream with greater hopes. I look forward to walking down a path towards a future filled with endless possibilities.  I don’t know what my new dream is yet, but what I do know is that I am filled with hope because it will be mine and it will be great!