Inner Quality Management (IQM)

Since the mid '90s HeartMath's Inner Quality Management (IQM)® model has ensured excellence for organisations the world over. This model underlies all the HeartMath programs including Leadership, Sales, Service, and organisational Coherence programs, as well as the Staff Retention and Development Program for hospitals.

Coherence is the key.

As any system--a company, a family, your life--becomes more complex, adapting to that complexity and potential chaos requires coherence. Coherence can be thought of in three ways:

When you are "in the zone," when your thoughts, decisions, communications "flow" --these are all examples of coherence.

When teams are clicking, are self-motivated and high-performing, extra energy is available from each of the members, energy that can be used for team goals and achievement. Coherence is the source.

When there is an alignment of strategy between markets, customers, leadership and staff, that's coherence. Innovative cultures that are driven by engagement and inspiration are usually highly coherent. This coherence in turn attracts passionately loyal customers

The IQM Model is a set of four dynamics designed to increase personal and organisational coherence.

Internal Self-Management
It starts with the individual. Internal Self Management is a scientifically-based process for building internal coherence in order to improve effective decision-making, transform non-productive stress reactions, and boost intelligence. The key is learning to recognise and regulate key emotional and physiological processes. In this dynamic participants learn the science of how and why to apply powerful techniques to job stresses, strategic planning, customer service, patient care, meeting effectiveness and personal interactions.

Coherent Communication
Coherence implies a lack of noise, little wasted energy. Interpersonal and organisational communication problems dramatically inhibit organisational effectiveness, while coherent communication is the foundation of exceptional teamwork. The IQM tools help individuals and teams improve their ability to listen and to develop new clarity in their communication with co-workers, clients, patients, customers and vendors, saving time, energy and money.

Boosting organisational Climate
Numerous organisational research studies have shown that certain attitudes prevalent within organisations can enhance productivity and performance, while others compromise it. Negative attitudes are chaotic and can spread like an "emotional virus," sapping organisational energy and creativity. In this dynamic, participants identify organisational pockets of the virus, while learning how to create a self-sustaining atmosphere of respect and appreciation to increase cooperation, commitment and job satisfaction.

Strategic Processes and Renewal
The fourth dynamic of the IQM Model holds, as a fundamental principle, that organisational resilience is crucial for sustainable success, and in an era of great uncertainty, minimising organisational trauma and pain is critical. At the same time, renewing creative thinking around processes and strategies is essential to be responsive to rapidly changing market, customer, and socio-political factors. This dynamic contains a set of tools that are built into the organisation to enable ongoing renewal, providing practical technologies for stimulating greater creativity and innovation, as well as techniques for project planning, decision-making and teamwork.