organization.   This   means   combining   quantitative methods and human resource leadership techniques to improve   customer-supplier   relations   and   internal processes. This cultural change in leadership practices has  certain  basic  elements: Leaders must clearly state the organization’s mission. This is stated clearly and made available to all employees, suppliers, and customers. A clear,   public-mission   statement   prevents individuals  from  generating  their  own  definitions of  work  priorities. Leaders  and  supervisors  must  ensure  their actions  clearly  support  the  organization’s mission. This support includes setting priorities and  assigning  tasks. Leaders   must   focus   their   efforts   toward   a common goal. This focus is an important part of team  building. Leaders must make a long-term commitment to quality improvement. Individual leaders must set an  example  by  providing  consistent,  focused leadership. LEADERSHIP  INVOLVEMENT The  essential  ingredient  of  TQL  success  is leadership  involvement.  Management  controls  the process  that  accomplishes  the  mission.  Quality, however, is in the hands of the workers who do the job. Management, therefore, has the responsibility to drive out the natural fear of change and innovation that is part of   most   people’s   basic   psychology.   TQL   requires support from the top down. This does not mean the department  head  level.  TQL  must  start  with SECNAV/CNO-level  support  and  be  supported  and implemented all the way to the bottom of the chain of command. From admiral to deck seaman, TQL requires a total effort. A popular myth among military leaders holds that increased   quality   results   in   increased   costs   and decreased productivity. In reality, improved quality ultimately results in decreased costs and increased productivity.  How  can  this  be?  A  focus  on  quality extends the time between failures of equipment and improves the efficiency of our operations. It reduces rework requirements as well as the need for special waivers  of  standards.  It  also  reduces  mistakes  and produces  monetary  savings  through  more  efficient  use of  scarce  resources. Direct benefits of TQL are as follows: Increased  pride  of  workmanship  among individual  workers Increased  readiness Improved sustainability due to extended time between  equipment  failures Greater  mission  survivability Better  justification  for  budgets  due  to  more efficient  operations Streamlined   maintenance   and   production processes SUBORDINATE  CONTRIBUTION The focus of TQL is the process by which work gets done. The person most familiar with this process is the individual  worker  responsible  for  making  it  work. Often,  a  process  is  either  unwieldy  or  just  plain unworkable.  In  a  rigid  bureaucracy,  for  workers  to persuade upper levels of a need to change a procedure is  nearly  impossible.  Under  TQL,  leadership  is responsible  for  making  the  job  as  easy  as  possible  for workers.  Supervisors  and  leaders  should  monitor  the work process and be responsive to suggestions from the work  force  concerning  unworkable  procedures.  Sailors in  particular  are  infamous  for  coming  up  with nonstandard  (but  workable)  solutions  to  problems.  In some  cases,  this  results  in  unsafe  practices.  However, these solutions are often extremely practical. We must develop the ability to ferret out these improvements and incorporate  them  into  standard  procedures.  This  serves a  dual  purpose.  First,  it  ensures  the  recommended improvement  is  usable  and  meets  all  applicable standards.  Second,  the  improved  method  is  made available to everyone involved in that process. This is a practical  application  of  “working  smarter,  not  harder.” TQL achieves results by focusing on the procedures and processes that get the work done. Under TQL, leadership must strive continuously to improve the work process. The primary emphasis of this effort is the prevention  of  defects  through  quality  improvement rather  than  quality  inspections.  Quality  cannot  be inspected in, it must be managed in from the beginning. Conforming to established specifications is only part of quality improvement. Leaders must not be satisfied with minimum  standards.  As  standards  are  met,  we,  as leaders, must look for new ways to improve our product. Find the means to further tighten standards and improve quality. That is your job. 4-16