Alison Gajadhar-Foster CQI affiliate
Management systems consultant and Chairperson of the Saint Lucia National Accreditation Council
“Once you adopt a systems approach to solving problems, you quickly realise no one person has all the skills needed to provide solutions”
What was your journey into quality?
While doing a post-doctoral fellowship in chemistry at Durham University in the UK, in 1999, I applied to be director at the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards. I didn’t get it, but was offered the position of standards development officer. After a short time, I was appointed acting director. I was introduced to quality-related matters, driving regulations for the implementation of national certification programmes and converting the organisation into a revenue-generating institution.
After seven and a half years, I moved into the private sector, co-founding and operating a beverage manufacturing plant and solar water-heater assembly and service company, while consulting on quality-related matters. I also served as an independent senator in Saint Lucia’s parliament. Later, I returned to the public sector as permanent secretary to the prime minister of Saint Lucia, as well as other portfolios. I was heavily involved in policy development, and initiated a national visioning and strategy development exercise.
In 2017, I returned to consulting. Since then, I have been working in areas related to quality infrastructure, strategy and policy development and implementation, and research, and I am assisting the government with the establishment of its first national accreditation council for the education sector. I also still volunteer in international standards development, serving as the national representative on ISO technical committees.
How do you get results?
Teamwork and collaboration. Once you adopt a systems approach to solving problems, you quickly realise no one person has all the skills needed to provide solutions. I always work closely with domain experts on projects, and emphasize the importance of good relationships and communication.
What is your biggest career achievement to date?
In my public work, transforming the national standards body into a revenue-generating regulatory body, with the capacity to implement conformity assessment programmes and participate actively in international and regional standards development.
In the private sector, my current role as a consultant is the pinnacle of my experiences. To connect on a different level with people whom I have worked with in the past, and now serve them in this way, has been my greatest joy. On a personal level, publishing my first book, Designed to Thrive: A Pathway to Creating Resilient Systems, is a very exciting recent achievement for me.
What has been a career challenge you have faced?
Communicating the centrality of quality in all areas of governance and management, and shifting mindsets to appreciate the effective use of standards to propel innovation and sustainable growth, by, among other things, stabilising processes within their systems.
Looking back, is there anything you would do differently?
My perspective on mistakes is not regret, but to use them as a learning experience. However, earlier in my career I wish I had paid more attention to the value of
the psychology of the system, and the role of the human. In my earlier years, I may have been too focused on getting things done and could perhaps have handled some situations differently, with more humanity.
What do you want to achieve in the next five years?
I would like to diversify into creating different products within the knowledge industry, to add more value for those wanting to improve the performance of systems for which they are responsible. This could include online courses and speaking engagements.
What’s your main piece of advice for others in their careers?
Take a moment to understand the psychology of the system before acting. You need to understand the external and internal context of a situation before trying to solve any problem, so you must first understand the purpose of the system you are dealing with.
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