Over the past few decades, many entities in various industries as well as the non-profit, have adopted a Quality initiative; some with great success.  Other attempts were not so successful; and many that failed, the attempt were written off as flavor of the month.  Why do some significantly succeed with implementing quality while others fail?  Is it the difference in the products or services offered, the structure of the company, the location, or the approach to training/implementation?  Or is it the culture, the environment, the leadership?  Academics and business leaders debate on the impact of the various leadership styles and successful implementation of quality.  The premise of this article is that it is the effective leadership of those entities that successfully implement quality, whether the foundation is Six Sigma, Lean, or the 5 S’s, it is in fact the delivery of the quality initiative in the form of effective leadership throughout the organization that makes the difference.