Standards define the ideal performance level and set the bar for when a work product can be described as “quality.”
While codifying the standards for manufactured products is a well-established practice in all industries, clarifying the measurable requirements for excellence in processes, meetings, communication, analysis, writing, and personal conduct, among many other less tangible work expressions, is much messier.
The quality standards at play for one-off deliverables, such as proposals, decisions, or models, are rarely discussed explicitly.
Instead, team members commonly receive criticism and critique focused on how to make the work product or process better without directly addressing the standards underlying the leader’s assessment.
There’s a good reason why leaders allow these quality standards to remain arcane.
Quality standards surrounding work activities are extremely difficult to articulate because they cover an enormously wide range of issues, details, and approaches.
When leaders try to codify them for a given deliverable, they are often overwhelmed by what could be included. Not only is their articulation incomplete, but it typically lacks the descriptive power that can turn the standard into application.
Practically speaking, specifying the full array of quality standards for excellence in less tangible work activities, like meetings and communication, is nearly impossible.
Far too many features and elements influence quality and represent the standards teams strive for.
That said, leaders can still make meaningful progress in both articulating the core requirements for quality and teaching them to others.
It all starts with a Checklist.
Checklists are the ideal tool for making “invisible work” visible. Turning standards into checklists makes excellence repeatable and knowable.
The first step is to begin creating a checklist of features, requirements, actions, desired outcomes, and attributes that represent the standard of excellence the leader wants to endorse.
Every checklist item is answered with a binary Yes/No or True/False, not an abstract evaluation, like good or bad.
As much as possible, anchor the checklist on outcomes and not on behaviors. For instance, replace “be respectful” with “everyone engaged respectfully.”
Good checklists also distinguish between baseline requirements (the meeting has a clear purpose) and higher benchmarks for excellence (dissenting views were rewarded). The best checklists contain both.
Once created, leaders can engage the team with the checklist before, during, or after the deliverable or activity to remind people what excellence looks like and whether it has been achieved.
Over time, the checklist will become a shared vocabulary of excellence in the making.
Discussing its many features and why they are so important is where true learning takes place for team members. Good leaders use the checklist attributes to explore with team members exactly what excellence looks like.
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