Episode 95- Quality Leadership Expert, Jackie Stapleton

9 Apr

Written By Jane Anderson

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In this episode of The Jane Anderson Show, we dive into the world of ISO systems and quality management with Jackie Stapleton—an inspiring force in ISO training, auditing, and professional development. With more than 25 years of experience, Jackie is a trusted mentor who empowers ISO professionals to elevate their impact and lead with confidence.

Meet Jackie Stapleton

As the founder and director of Auditor Training Online, Jackie has helped hundreds of professionals across industries—from telecommunications and education to trades and government—build meaningful careers. With a grounded, no-nonsense style shaped by real-world experience, she’s walked the path from Internal Auditor to Quality Manager to triple-certified contract auditor and successful entrepreneur. Her training programs are designed to turn complexity into clarity, making ISO standards accessible, actionable, and empowering.

From Technical to Transformational

Jackie is passionate about helping ISO professionals step beyond the tick-box mindset to become influential leaders. Her belief? That quality systems should serve the business—not the other way around. She’s on a mission to bring humanity into management systems and make them work smarter, not harder. Whether she’s mentoring emerging auditors or training seasoned consultants, Jackie leads with clarity, strategy, and a whole lot of heart.

Tune in as Jackie shares her inspiring journey—from those first audits to building a thriving global training business. You’ll discover fresh insights on the future of ISO, why development never stops, and how technical experts can lead meaningful change with confidence and purpose.

Key Takeaways from Today’s Episode:

The episode begins with host Jane Anderson welcoming listeners to the show and introducing her special guest, Jackie Stapleton. Jackie is a respected expert in ISO systems implementation, auditing, and professional development. With over 25 years of experience, she has mentored hundreds of professionals, guiding them from internal auditing roles to successful consulting careers. She is highly regarded in the quality management industry.
Jackie’s work spans various industries such as telecommunications, education, trades, and government. She is the founder of Auditor Training Online and holds three contract auditor certifications. Her experience covers all aspects of ISO, from internal auditing to environmental management. She is particularly known for helping ISO professionals transition from technical roles to leadership by simplifying and streamlining complex systems.
As Jane officially welcomes Jackie to the show, they begin discussing Jackie’s journey. Jackie explains how she started her RTO (Registered Training Organisation) 13 years ago, believing that training and certification were all ISO professionals needed to succeed. However, she soon realised there was a significant gap between receiving certification and applying the knowledge in practice. Many professionals felt lost after training, unsure of how to implement what they’d learned. Jackie created JackieStapleton.com to address this issue by providing support in the application phase.
Jackie elaborates that while training is foundational, what truly matters is how professionals apply their knowledge and develop soft skills. Many training providers overlook this need. Jackie introduces a three-part framework: knowledge (certification), application (using that knowledge), and soft skills (such as communication and emotional intelligence). She emphasizes that many ISO professionals struggle to lead because they lack the interpersonal tools to bring others along, despite having technical qualifications.
Jackie describes a phenomenon she calls the “learning loop,” where ISO professionals repeatedly seek more training because they feel unheard, rather than focusing on practising leadership. She explains that the real challenge isn’t technical—it’s people. Professionals must learn to lead, understand their organisational context, and recognise where ISO is valued in their workplace in order to influence outcomes effectively.
Jackie shares an example of a client who achieved ISO 9001 certification but struggled to gain internal buy-in. This highlights the difficulty many professionals face in shifting from technical implementation to human engagement. Unlike tangible procedures, soft skills like reading a room or adjusting body language are intangible and require time, adaptability, and emotional intelligence to develop. Jackie reiterates that success comes from consistent application and learning how to lead within dynamic environments.
Jane notes Jackie’s transition from running a training business to also building a personal brand. Jackie reflects on how this evolution was initially confusing until she learned to distinguish her offerings as clusters: Auditor Training Online for certification and JackieStapleton.com for coaching and thought leadership. This separation allows her to focus on quality leadership and develop a more personal connection with her clients. She notes that this approach is still a new concept in the ISO industry.
Jane praises Jackie for “leading the standard,” both literally and figuratively, in the standards industry. Jackie shares how she’s been actively developing her thought leadership, including attending content creation bootcamps and writing a book. She explains that she uses “pink sheets,” a technique from Thought Leaders Business School (developed by Matt Church), to organise and refine her intellectual property. Jackie now has nearly 100 pink sheets and continues to use this methodology to unpack her ideas and deepen her expertise.
Jackie and Jane share a lighthearted moment about pink sheets, clarifying that these are not physical bed linens but conceptual tools used to capture and structure thought leadership. Jackie underscores how vital this method has been in developing her IP and articulating her insights as a thought leader.
Jackie shares a reflective moment about encouraging a client to put herself out there despite self-doubt. She admits that her own initial pink sheets—used to develop ideas and intellectual property—were basic, even underwhelming. But after producing more than 50, her deeper and more meaningful insights began to emerge. She now contributes regularly to the Quality Business Magazine, a milestone that came only after persistence and growth in her thought leadership journey. Her advice to others is simple but powerful: just start, even if the first efforts feel subpar, because that's the path to excellence.
Jackie highlights the importance of structured content planning, particularly when approached through the lens of writing a book. She began with 53 topic ideas and gradually refined them. Initially focused on capturing fragments, Jackie describes how ideas started to flow naturally once she committed to the process. She credits the bootcamp environment with helping her let go of perfectionism and instead focus on simply getting her thoughts down. This mental shift—from trying to organise everything perfectly to trusting that clarity would come later—was a significant milestone for her.
Jane reflects on Jackie’s transformation across bootcamp sessions, observing how she moved from listing technical ISO topics to expressing more original and visionary thought leadership. Jackie recalls her early content being too focused on ISO 9001 specifics, showing that she was still "stuck in the knowledge section." But through ongoing reflection and unpacking of her ideas, she began creating content that resonates externally. This shift not only enhanced her ability to speak at events but also expanded her presence in newsletters, podcasts, and industry publications.
Jackie outlines her content repurposing strategy, showing how she maximises the value of each idea. Starting with a pink sheet, she then turns it into a newsletter, blog post, email, LinkedIn article, and more. Her marketing team helps transform this base content into social media posts, creating a highly leveraged content system. By doing this, Jackie not only saves time but also ensures that each idea gets maximum reach and impact across multiple platforms.
In response to a listener's potential insecurity, Jackie offers heartfelt advice: be brave, take the first step, and surround yourself with positive people. She admits that she, too, initially doubted her ability to step into thought leadership. However, with the support of mentors, family, and her team, she pushed through self-doubt. Jackie stresses that everyone has something unique to offer, and often it’s not about what you say, but how you say it. She quotes Harvey Spencer: “Anyone can do my job, but no one can be me,” highlighting that our individuality is our biggest strength.
Jane and Jackie discuss how Jackie’s vibrant personal brand has emerged despite the traditionally conservative culture of the ISO industry. Jackie reveals that she initially tried to conform—wearing grey and suppressing her personality—to fit in with the male-dominated field. However, it didn’t feel authentic. Eventually, she embraced her individuality, working with branding expert Rachel Dunn to explore and express her true self through bright colours, bold imagery, and confident messaging. This allowed her brand to truly “pop,” making her stand out and connect more meaningfully with her audience.
In this final part of the conversation, Jackie continues to reflect on how she discovered and expressed her authentic self in an industry known for its conservatism. Working with branding expert Rachel Dunn from Girl Director, Jackie explored the use of colour and visual identity to reflect her true personality. Although she had always loved bright colours, she initially felt they were inappropriate for the ISO industry’s formal, muted aesthetic. This led her to hide aspects of her identity in an effort to fit in.
However, Jackie realised that by doing so, she was playing it safe and limiting her self-expression. She shares how she once thought staying under the radar would help her avoid scrutiny for not fitting the typical ISO professional mould. In a humorous yet revealing moment, Jackie mentions her love for rap and hip hop—interests that clearly contrast with the stereotypical grey-clad ISO persona. This honest realisation illustrates the importance of authenticity, even in traditional spaces, and how embracing her true self helped Jackie carve out a distinctive and successful brand in the standards industry.