The Reality of Working in Quality Assurance

It’s not exactly a popularity contest, is it?

And it’s not like we told Uncle Jimmy, when we were 6, that we have our heart set on being a Quality Assurance Manager when we grow up. Are you kidding? Most people don’t even know what that is.

Most of us end up stumbling into the role. Coming in sideways from somewhere else. Sometimes just “looking after” quality temporarily until they find someone. We get thrown in. Sink or swim. We figure it out. Maybe we get some formal training, eventually.

I came in through law. No concept of what quality assurance really was. No idea what a medical device was. Not sure if it was a matter of right time, right place… or wrong time, wrong place… but there I was.

And, never mind the lack of technical training, we don’t ever get much formal leadership training either, do we? If we get training, it might be some sort of Lean thing or an auditing course or something. And that’s pretty much it.

I personally love this way of learning, though. Because it’s real. It’s practical. You get why you’re learning it.

And I ADORE quality folks. They. do. not. quit. They have standards (pun, sort of intended) that feel a bit more grounded in “doing right” than a lot of other folks. Maybe I’m biased because I was a quality person for a couple of decades, and it’s fun to pretend to be morally superior to the non-quality folks.

Work ethic… off the charts.

Sense of responsibility… unmatched.

Willingness to take the high road over and over and over… yeap.

Attention to detail, coupled with perfectionist tendencies… umm…errr… well, yeah.

Overthinker… uh huh.

But the professional isolation can be demoralizing. It’s not like everyone wants to be your best friend at work. You walk into your office every day knowing that other departments secretly (or openly, a lot of the time) view you as the bottleneck, the compliance cop, or the buzzkill who seems quite determined to muck up their timelines.

Oh, and this… somehow or other we’re expected to carry 100% of the blame if things go sideways or a batch fails. But we never get to share in the glory when operations are running smoothly.

It’s not for the faint of heart.

And yet — the people who end up in these roles carry it all with dignity and pride.

In my coaching practice, there are definite patterns in the people who arrive to see me.

Different people, different companies, different industries, yes… but pretty reliably, they fall into a few neat categories.

1. The Burned-Out Boundary Holder

Every day is a battle. There’s relentless, aggressive pressure from Site Managers and Operations Directors and Commercial folks to “just sign off” on whatever questionable thing needs signing off on so they can ship. These folks are unwilling to compromise on quality, but the constant emotional conflict is exhausting and stressful.

They want to stop carrying all this stress all the time. They don’t want to wake up at 2 am in a panic about something that happened, could happen, might happen. And they would really like to be able to hold a firm line without feeling like they’re a pain in the ass, or feeling like they’re constantly burning professional bridges.

2. The Reluctant Gatekeeper

This one genuinely wants to be a team player. Supportive. Collaborative. The person people come to, not avoid.

The problem is they sometimes have to say no. It’s just part of the job. Someone’s got to hold the line so someone else doesn’t end up getting harmed. Or sent to jail. Right?

So they’re caught in a constant tension between wanting to be liked and needing to do the right thing. Always weighing competing pressures — regulatory requirements, business timelines, risk, precedent — while everyone else is whispering about how annoying they are or standing outside the door tap tap tapping their foot with impatience.

The decision paralysis is real. The anxiety that comes with it is real. And the sense that they’re the only one who seems to feel the weight of it is also very real.

3. Deep in the Weeds

This person is an absolute genius at what they do. Detail-oriented, technically brilliant, knows the regulations inside out and upside down. Nerdy. And proud of it.

The problem is they’ve hit an invisible ceiling and often don’t even understand why.

Here’s why: what makes them so good in their little corner of the organization is exactly what’s holding them back from being seen and heard more widely. They leave executives with their eyes glazed over. They don’t know how to explain things (that are pretty straightforward to them) to people who don’t have the same knowledge — people like C-suite people, for instance. Their arguments and proposals, which are detailed, thorough, precise, airtight, and right, keep missing the mark.

Things get lost in translation. Including their brilliance. They want to be seen as a strategic business partner, not as the person chasing down CAPA reports. And they’re starting to realize that that requires a completely different language.

4. The Invisible Executive

And then we have this one. Doing top-notch work, leading a fantastic team that quietly keeps the business out of trouble, protects the company’s reputation, and makes sure that every patient or end user gets a safe product and a good experience.

They’re totally ready for the next level — Director, VP — but because they’re so stellar at their job, they’re invisible.

They’re dying to be recognized and promoted and are uncomfortable tooting their own horn too much, because “aren’t I just doing my job?”

And all four? In a typical quality-leader way, they all just soldier on. They just get on with it.

Carrying whatever they're carrying. Mostly alone.

Which one are you?

If you're looking for support, reach out anytime.