As in every quality improvement endeavor, there were challenges along the way. Three years after we began the process that occurred, and may even occur today. We were supplying money for improvement and personally leading corrective actions but, still people questioned our commitment to the process , says Tom Aitchison. If an organization has a history of not sticking with new processes, the leadership will have to work even harder and longer until it has developed a reputation for follow-through. It took every bit of four or five years to get it accepted , says Jim Aitchison.
Many leaders know how much of their time they are spending on the quality improvement process.
This reinforces in their minds that they are demonstrating commitment to the quality improvement process to their people. However, most of the leadership s work tends to be accomplished in conference rooms. When people don t see, with their own eyes, a leader who is involved in the process, they make up their own stories. Leadership must be visible in the process. To a large degree, numbers of problems were hidden and we didn t realize the amount of effort and time it would take to resolve them.