Self Charter: Quality Standards

This is the final section of a five-part series on Self Charters, an exercise in self-management and personal accountability. In this series, I explore how to design a charter that helps clarify values and establish a framework for guiding one's actions. Click here to start from the beginning. Keep reading to learn more about defining your self charter's quality standards.

---

How do I define and sustain quality for the outcomes and outputs I produce?

We’ve all been there: a project is delivered, a goal is achieved, and by all accounts, the work is "done." But in the quiet moments after the final deliverable is shipped, a question lingers: was it truly a high-quality outcome?

For high performers, the standard isn’t just about completion. It’s about integrity. It’s about a personal definition of quality that applies not only to our professional outputs but also to the personal projects and interactions that make up our lives.

So, how do we define and sustain quality for the things we produce? To define true quality in both my work and my personal life, I rely on a shared set of standards that apply across all outcomes and outputs. These four standards form the core of my personal quality charter:

• The desired result is achieved.

• Attention to detail is clear.

• The balance between perfection and completion is based on the desired outcome.

• Others feel good when they collaborate with me.

Quality is a Spectrum, Not a Yes or No

When you use these questions to evaluate your work, you’ll quickly realize that quality isn’t a binary. You won’t always get a unanimous "yes" across the board, and that's okay. I’ve found it’s more empowering to view quality as a spectrum with defined levels.

This framework helps me identify where things went off track and how to improve in the future, all while keeping uncontrollable circumstances in mind.

• High Quality is when you can confidently say "yes" to all four questions. This is the ideal.

• Medium Quality typically yields a "yes" to a specific combination of questions, like:

  • Yes: The desired result is achieved.

  • Yes: The balance between perfection and completion was based on the desired outcome.

  • Yes: Others feel good when they collaborate with me.

    In this scenario, perhaps the attention to detail wasn't perfect, but the outcome was achieved and the collaboration was positive. The work was still valuable.

• Low Quality is when you can only say "yes" to one or fewer categories. For example, if the goal was achieved but attention to detail was lacking and your collaborators did not enjoy the process, you cannot, in good confidence, call this a high-quality outcome.

To summarize, quality levels are not defined by the number of "yeses" as much as they are defined by the combination of them.

A Three-Step Approach to Measuring Quality

Measuring quality with this framework is a simple, repeatable process:

1. Define your questions. Use the four universal standards as your starting point.

2. Define your levels. Use a system like High, Medium, and Low, or create your own.

3. Maintain a balanced perspective. Don’t fixate on what didn't go perfectly. Instead, observe the outcome from a place of balance, learning from the areas that need improvement.

By applying this framework, you can move beyond simply "getting it done" to a more intentional practice of delivering and sustaining true quality in your career, your relationships, and your life.

What’s one project you’re working on right now? Try using these four questions to define its quality. What does it reveal about your process?