Will these be the metrics I use to guide my team?

Problems Solved, Questions Answered, and Opportunities Identified feel like clunky metrics, but I can't come up with any better measures for my team's performance at the moment. I want something to measure our progress and keep everybody pulling in the same direction, but there is no single output that is a good proxy for gauging our productivity. We don't generate revenues and there is no easily identified dollar value assigned to what we do. I've never even heard of any real monetary value allocated to our activity in the seven plus years that I've been working in the labs. That means I have to come up with something novel.

While awkward, I feel like these categories capture the essence of what my team is trying to accomplish. We tend to think about our activities in terms of the process needed to complete the task rather than the underlying purpose of doing the task in the first place. That orientation biases us towards the mechanics of the task. We worry about the steps that need to be taken rather The process generates data, but to complete the task we need to understand the data.  My categories are intended to remind people that we're not generating data. We're generating knowledge.

And not Or

The answer to my question about whether I'll be judged on project progression or people performance missed the mark. Well, maybe not entirely, but it was far enough off that I feel like I need to redirect myself on this point. This is not an either or question. I'll be judged on BOTH projects and people. It took me reading this to see that obvious truth. No amount of people development will make up for missing a deadline on a project. On the other hand, stellar project performance will likely eclipse poor leadership. While I may not see this as the best way for the organization to proceed, I need to recognize that this is the reality of my situation and adjust my focus accordingly.

I have come up with a way to address the needs of the projects in a way that respects every task that my team will need to perform. I don't care if the organization doesn't put much stock in leadership. I am going to lead my team in a manner that I feel will allow everybody to maximize their contribution to our efforts. They'll do more to progress projects if they see the value rather than needing me to push them all the time. There is a history in the organization of the more routine tasks being of lesser value than solving problems or developing new capabilities. I finally found a way to discuss these activities in a way that emphasizes the value of both without making one task subservient or less valuable than the other. The point of my struggle was to get everybody on my team to see that they add value. Every task is important. I want my language and approach to leading the team to reflect that view. I have that in hand.

Fighting against "his old stuff was better"

I loved OK Computer. Hell, I still love that album. I hated Kid A, at least the first time I listened to it. I wanted another OK Computer, not this electronic garbage. Why did this genius bad have to go and screw up their sound? I tried a couple more times, but I only got more annoyed with the experimentation. (I had spent the money on the CD after all, I didn't just want to ditch the damn thing). Before sticking the CD in my case and just leaving it there, I decide to set aside my prejudice and just listen to it without projecting my expectations into the experience. Take the music on its merit, I told myself. Don't look for OK Computer. Pretend you've never heard of Radiohead. I was blown away. Could this be better than OK Computer? (The critics are wrong, The Bends is not the best Radiohead album, it's good, but it's not the best.) Amnesiac was never in danger of being exiled to the CD case.

I'm in the midst of a similar shift. I made my mark doing one thing at work, but to go forward I need to do things differently. My new role requires a fresh approach. People who worked with me before may want to see more of the old me, but it's critical that I make it clear that I'm not going to be doing the same things. The real trick will be performing at a high enough level that people see this shift as an improvement over my old work.

Seek and destroy

There should be a bit of a rebel in every leader. Or maybe it's better to say that there is a touch of rebellion in the actions of a leader. I'm probably just reacting to the overly aggressive actions of Bryan. Bryan, like me, has recently been promoted to a manager position. I've heard that he has already concocted plans that he thinks will get him in good favor with our boss. I can already sense that I may have to counter some of those plans. His schemes will not limit my ability to lead my team.

While some of Bryan's plans may make things more complicated for me (those ever present office politics), it's interesting to see how somebody who has clearly decided to focus on projects is pursuing power and status. For him, controlling the group's approach to projects is the key to winning our boss's favor. He has taken the initiative to make a list of all the projects in the different groups. I'm sure the next step will be to decide which projects will be handled by which team. (I'm sure he'll call them groups, but I will just keep referring to my group as my team.) He's just trying to fit the old system into the new organization. Its just part of his plan to fit himself into whatever mold will get him promoted again.

Refusing to accept that mold and finding a new way to lead our teams, a way that our boss hasn't thought of, is how I intend to keep progressing in the organization. I think out boss wants to see how we'll operate on our own. I've thought about going to him to get a sense for what he expects and what he wants, but he wasn't very forthcoming when I tried to get him to address that subject in our first couple of conversations. I was confused by that for a bit, but then I realized that he wants to see what I'll do on my own. That's a comforting insight. There is no pressure to conform. There is freedom for me to figure out the best way for me to move forward in the manner that feels best for me. I have no interest in perpetuating the old way of working. My mantra going forward will be does it have to be this way? I intend to get my team to question as many of their assumptions as I can. It's not about being confrontational or nihilistic. It's about getting people to see old things in a new way. I just want them to see possibilities where they currently see limitations. They shouldn't just accept the system, but seek it's gradual destruction.

Performance standards derived from performance focus

Will my performance be judged on project progression or people performance?

I thought that was a question for my boss when I jotted it down in my group leader notebook. Today I realized that it was a question that I have to answer. It's not a matter of answering in words. Simply writing, or saying, that I will be judged on people performance is not adequate. It's about the actions I take and the decisions that I make.

The projects will be progressed. That is the number one thing that I must ensure gets done. As long as my group gets samples tested in a timely manner, all will be well. Getting samples tested is not why I took this job. I took this job to influence the organization, and I want to develop as a leader. Influence and leading are all about my impact on people. Focusing on projects is not enough.

Make something

It's always nice to see your thoughts being expressed out in the wider world. I would rather that I be the one getting the notice, but I'm not willing to put in the effort to make that happen. I have other things to work on.  I could be making more blog posts or trying harder to get those posts noticed, but that's not where I'm choosing to exert my time and energies. I'm working on making something else.

When I was exhorting job seekers to show me more than what they think I want to see, I was begging them to show me what they've made.  Making something is more than coming up with a gadget that people can hold in their hands. It's an accomplishment. It's a goal that's been realized. People focus too much on what they do. They see executing the process as progress. No, the process is just a step towards something concrete. Something that you can point to and say that you made that. It's just evidence that you can finish something. It's also evidence that you can go face all the challenges that come with making something and keep going when things get a little sticky.

This notion of making seems like another element in some kind of guide to finding that one big thing that I must do. Push it to The Edge. Make something. These notions aren't limited to professional aspirations. Overcoming challenges is more than being physically uncomfortable. There are all kinds of Edges in our relationships. We work hard with the important people in our life to define a nice comfortable space for our interactions. We find that space and don't work too hard to expand it. I spent too much of my relationship with my wife focused on what I was feeling. I was ignoring how I was making her feel.

The something that you make doesn't have to be tactile. It can be a mood, a feeling, or an impression. What we make is our impression on the world. We can let circumstances mold us, let the world make an impression on us, or we can figure out what we want to make and change one little something in our life, in our world.