Teams and organizations rely upon critical measurements to assess their health and progress.
OKRs, KPIs, and other metrics are commonly calculated on a rolling basis, giving leaders a snapshot of the current stability and success of the team.
Rarely do leaders calibrate these measurements themselves.
In most organizations, metrics are automated or computed by a support team and then made available to leaders on a periodic basis as they assess the health of the team.
But what impact does a leader have when they find a new way of looking at the team’s progress and gauge it themselves?
The answer is that it momentarily redirects the focus of the team and creates dialogue around what may be critically important to the team’s future success.
Whatever a leader personally observes, measures, and inspects gets the full attention of the team. Just taking the time to closely observe any issue, process, or project will spotlight what the leader believes to be important.
But when a leader goes a step further and measures what is occurring beyond the familiar metrics, team members take notice and give the underlying issue their full attention.
Team members don’t hold in high regard any matter that doesn’t draw the attention and focus of their leader. Whatever is important to the leader becomes more significant to the team.
Inspection through measurement screams what a leader believes is essential to discuss and address.
Such new ways of looking at matters are most often temporary and don’t become permanent metrics used consistently by the team. Instead, they are one-time snapshots that raise an important question for the team to consider and potentially address.
For instance, a leader might measure the output of only those new to the organization (say, at the two-year mark) to evaluate the effectiveness of the onboarding and early development process.
A leader could take a stab at assessing team member commitment by measuring the percentage of individual participation in any new activity, initiative, or program.
They might also examine the innovation power of the team by measuring the number of new ideas generated in the last six months. The list is limited only by the creativity of the leader.
Leaders who rely exclusively on established metrics and don’t take the time to investigate, inspect, and examine issues with new but temporary measures miss an important opportunity to tell the team what is important.
The best leaders find new ways of examining readily available data and making simple calculations to expand the conversation and underline what the team may need to address.
The team respects whatever the leader inspects.
Momentary measures garner a lot of attention and help to redirect the team to what matters.
What ratio, percentage, correlation, or estimate are you using to create a sharper focus for your team?
Consider trying a novel measurement to start a brand-new conversation within your team. It just takes some data and a dose of your creativity.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
