Inside the Baldrige Leadership Journey with Dr. David Spong

Learn from Dr. David Spong who retired from a 40-year career in aerospace as president of Aerospace Support for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. During his tenure two different organizations he led won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Service. Join Seasons Leadership Co-Founders Debbie Collard and Susan Ireland as they interview David about the Baldrige criteria, leadership excellence, culture and the relentless pursuit of quality.
 
Show notes
David explains what the Baldrige Quality award is (2:55) and begins to breakdown how it helps teams pursue excellence with leadership setting the culture (4:45). He shares how he originally believed he didn’t have time for this “soft stuff” (5:58) but then became a true believer in the power of using the Baldrige criteria. He explains how he transitioned from an engineer to a “caring leader” (8:00) all through realizing the power of the metrics.
 
David talks about quality first (10:40) and gives a very visual example in aerospace related to fuel tanks in wings (12:32). He draws a distinction between management and leadership (15:30) and shares the cruise ship metaphor (16:22). Next, he talks about being a values-based leader (18:19), demonstrating values (19:34) and the role of employee surveys (21:40) and his thoughts on feedback (23:36).
 
Debbie Collard asks David if knowing what he knows now, would he change anything in his 40+ year career (26:12). A surprise voice joins the podcast (28:52) who will actually be our guest next week – David’s daughter Catherine Spong, M.D.
 
(32:00) Debbie and Susan share their insights from the first episode of the all-new Seasons Leadership Podcast. This is part 1 of a 3-episode series featuring Dr. David Spong and Dr. Catherine Spong.

More information: Baldrige Performance Excellence Program | NIST