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Tag: scorecard

A woman stands in front of a group of coworkers seated around a table, making a presentation with a chart of the wall beside her. A woman stands in front of a group of coworkers seated around a table, making a presentation with a chart of the wall beside her.

One Tool Every Leader Needs

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Engagement, Execution, Performance. No Comments on One Tool Every Leader Needs

How do you keep score as a leader? What key metrics ultimately determine whether you are winning or not? Several years ago, my coach asked me questions like these and others. I had to confess, I wasn’t sure I had good answers for him. His conclusion was: What key numbers does your leader hold you accountable to achieve?

I believe every leader needs a scorecard. I would take that a step further and say every team and every organization needs one, too. A scorecard is a wonderful, multi-faceted tool. Think of it as a Swiss Army Knife for a leader. With a well-conceived scorecard, a leader can do the following:

  • Create focus – The world most of us find ourselves leading in is growing in complexity. This trend is not likely to subside. We are bombarded by facts, figures, data, analysis, and opinion. When you, as a leader, establish a scorecard, you are not discounting other metrics. Rather, you are establishing priority. You are declaring what a win looks like. You are telling everyone what is most important.
  • Monitor progress – A scorecard is like a dashboard on a car. You have critical gauges constantly being monitored. You can watch your fuel level, your oil pressure, your speed, and your mileage. You can even chart your course using a GPS. A scorecard should include critical metrics to allow you to know how you are progressing on your journey.
  • Foster accountability – In most organizations, people are assigned accountability for specific goals and the metrics that inform them. In some cases, an entire organization can be accountable for a set of metrics.
  • Evaluate effectiveness – Is your work making a difference? Is the plan you devised to improve your performance actually working? How will you know if you don’t measure outcomes? A scorecard is a great tool to determine if you need to make adjustments to the play you called. Imagine a football team whose scorecard (scoreboard) indicates they are behind at halftime. This information informs the game plan for the second half. If they are winning by 3 touchdowns, they will likely stay the course!
  • Celebrate progress – Here’s the blinding flash of the obvious for today: Work is hard. That’s just one reason leaders look for legitimate reasons to celebrate. An uptick on key metrics is a wonderful opportunity to stop and say, “Thanks for your extra efforts! Look, what we are doing is working – keep it up.” Without data, without an agreed upon set of metrics, you miss a golden opportunity to acknowledge the people who make it all possible.
  • Declare victory – I love goals, big and small alike. Goals bring out the best in most people. If the goals are relevant, known, pursued with purpose, and meaningful, people will go to great lengths to accomplish them. There is something innately powerful about striving and achieving. Include goals on your scorecard and watch people move towards them. Including goals on your scorecard allows you to declare victory when you cross the finish line–another reason to celebrate.

 

Two coworkers, one seated and one standing, looking at a computer monitor together in a large open office area. Two coworkers, one seated and one standing, looking at a computer monitor together in a large open office area.

People Don’t Care

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Culture, Engagement, Organization. No Comments on People Don’t Care

Here’s a specific question I get asked often: How do you create a workplace where people care deeply about their work?

The level of disengagement in the American workforce is staggering. This is not an indictment on the American workforce; it is leadership malpractice. Imagine the lost revenue and untapped potential in an organization, and a nation, where the majority of workers don’t care.

You and I create the context in which people work. We own that, or we should. What can we do to create a place where people care? The actual list of tactics would be endless. However, here are a few strategies that can help.

Establish a compelling purpose. Help people see the why behind the work. This not only motivates a workforce, it can be a powerful incentive for customers to support your business.

Practice servant leadership. If you create a culture in which leaders understand they are servants first, engagement will go up. Are you a serving leader or a self-serving leader?

Set high expectations. I’ve met very few people over the years who want to be mediocre. I believe there’s something in all of us that responds when we’re called upon to deliver our best.

Create meaning in the work. Does the work matter? If not, why is it being done? If the work does matter, help people see the value in their work. Create linkage directly to the customer whenever possible.

Staff to leverage strengths. Do you have the right people in the right roles? Do your people have the chance to do what they do best everyday? People working out of their weakness are much less likely to be fully engaged.

Ensure everyone knows the score. People love to keep score. Does everyone know the score? Do they know the overall score, and do they have their own individual scorecard? Measurement drives engagement, and the absence fuels drudgery.

Prune as needed. Not everyone will be successful in your organization. That’s okay. As Henry Cloud says, “Nothing that is alive will thrive without pruning.” Hard decisions about people who can’t, or won’t, make the journey will pay huge dividends for your leadership and the culture.

Creating a culture in which people care is hard work. Each and every one of the strategies above will require courage and discipline to execute. The dividends are huge. Just imagine a 100% or even a 200% increase in engagement. What would that be worth to your organization?