Last year, in What kind of inspector do you want to hire in China?, I listed two essential traits of a good quality inspector:

• Willingness to follow rules without looking for shortcuts
• Attention to details

Obviously there are many other desirable traits, such as honesty and assertiveness. But I never took the time to list them all. And actually, other people have done a very good job at this.

Yesterday I was reading the ISO 19011:2011 standard (Guidelines for auditing management systems) and I came upon a very insightful list that I pasted below.

Auditors should exhibit professional behaviour during the performance of audit activities, including being:

— ethical, i.e. fair, truthful, sincere, honest and discreet;

— open-minded, i.e. willing to consider alternative ideas or points of view;

— diplomatic, i.e. tactful in dealing with people;

— observant, i.e. actively observing physical surroundings and activities;

— perceptive, i.e. aware of and able to understand situations;

— versatile, i.e. able to readily adapt to different situations;

— tenacious, i.e. persistent and focused on achieving objectives;

— decisive, i.e. able to reach timely conclusions based on logical reasoning and analysis;

— self-reliant, i.e. able to act and function independently whilst interacting effectively with others;

— acting with fortitude, i.e. able to act responsibly and ethically, even though these actions may not always be popular and may sometimes result in disagreement or confrontation;

— open to improvement, i.e. willing to learn from situations, and striving for better audit results;

— culturally sensitive, i.e. observant and respectful to the culture of the auditee;

— collaborative, i.e. effectively interacting with others, including audit team members and the auditee’s personnel.

I think this list applies pretty well to good quality control inspectors, too.

And, in the context of China, I would focus on this short list (most important on top):

1. Acting with fortitude
2. Decisive
3. Observant
4. Tenacious
5. Self-reliant
6. Diplomatic
7. Perceptive
8. Open to improvement

Would you add something?