Measuring Effectiveness

We live in an age obsessed with metrics and measurements. Newscasts are frequently peppered with the latest statistic or ominous trend. The Internet gives us access to more and, in some cases, better data about what we buy, how to stay healthy, and of course why we are frequently in crisis. If you can count it, chart it, or expound on it there is likely someone doing just that. From baseball to bond markets, client satisfaction to consumer spending, death rates to debt ratios there is a measurement or stat to accompany it.

Is it any wonder that business leaders seem preoccupied with measuring results? They have MBA theories and case studies to prove the value of tracking company performance. And perhaps most importantly, many executives have compensation agreements loaded with incentives for successfully reaching enterprise and personal goals. Monthly reports and meeting agendas are replete with the latest Key Performance Measures and financial ratios.

So what does all this carefully compiled and audited information really tell us? Does it capture how inspired our workforce may be? Does it reveal how committed we are to truth telling and promise-keeping? Will it offer insights about how well the talents of our employees are being utilized? Is there any revelation about the quality of our listening skills or the level of trust among our Board members?

The sad answer to these questions is that we are failing to calculate perhaps the most important measure of any leader, how effective he or she really is. Effectiveness is a challenging concept to quantify and I don’t pretend to have the right metrics to track and express it. Instead what I am pondering is how to apply this new “measure” to the quality and output of my own work. How do I know if I’m effective as a leader?

Using existing metrics that calculate revenue, expenses, profits, client retention, close rates, and client satisfaction one might make the case that I am somewhat ineffective in the current fiscal year. But do these numbers reveal the complete story? If one begins to assess my work based on answers to the questions posed earlier about inspiration, telling the truth, or matching talent to task a much different picture emerges.

As someone who works with leaders who want to be inspiring and organizations that embrace them, my effectiveness depends in large part on how those leaders that I work with consciously change their behaviors. Are they more courageous in the face of adversity or more authentic and vulnerable with their direct reports and peers? Are they more willing to serve others or more committed to telling the truth? Are they more loving in their relationships? In other words, are they more effective too? I would like to think they are and that I have played a small role in their progress.

This musing expresses my deep longing for a new set of metrics. I’m not suggesting that the old measures be completely abandoned. Rather I am inviting conversation about how learning to measure leadership effectiveness could actually improve the results that our old metrics are designed to track. A commitment to being effective might also have the power to transform what has become a cold, fear-based workplace into a warm, inviting, inspiring sanctuary. Let the dreaming begin!