They say to road to hell is paved with good intentions. If that is the case, then the road is surely a super highway this time of year. It is filled with those leaving behind their new year’s resolutions, goals, objectives, and strategic plans as they drive head long into disjointed projects, their current distracting crisis, and the mundane tasks of the day.
When leading an organization you are responsible for the organizational output. Your effectiveness as a leader is found in their productivity. There are three categories which you can grade your effectiveness in creating the right environment for productivity to occur; efficiency, quality and accountability.
Productivity is the output of efficient behaviors that produce products or services at a standard of quality that meets or exceeds market requirements. Without efficiency you can’t make money. Without quality you won’t keep a customer, and without accountability you will never do either consistently.
Quality + Efficiency = Productivity.
The higher ratios of quality and efficiency the more productive your organization will be. Evaluating your company structure and your leadership performance in these areas will help keep you on the path to higher performance.
Let’s get you back onto a path that leads your organization to productivity. Take this short test to see how far off track you are, and what you need to work on to get back on track.
Answer each question with a 1 to 5 score, 1 being excellence, 3 moderate, 5 failing in this area. Low score means you have high productivity.
Efficiency
- What quantifiable objectives have I given people to pursue?
- Are you confident their processes will generate the results you require?
- Do they have enough time to complete the projects I have assigned, as well as the on going objectives they are responsible for?
Quality
- Have I provided the proper resources to allow them to produce a quality product or service?
- Have I provided enough training that ensures they can execute the process effectively enough to produce a quality product or service?
- Have I implemented proper quality controls to manage quality standards?
Accountability
- Have the necessary resources been properly allocated to equip them to accomplish their objectives?
- Is a reporting process being utilized to measure results and track progress?
- Do we meet at least twice per month to discuss the reports, progress, and work on improvement through additional training or problem solving?
If you scored a 4 or 5 on any question, these items are emergency items that need your immediate attention. If you scored a 3 on any items, mark these for improvement as time permits, knowing that good enough never is. If you scored a 2 or 1 on any category, you are performing at a high level in these areas.
Looking at your overall test score, if you scored a 20 or less, you are most likely very proficient in all three categories, and may only have a couple of individual items you need to tune up. If you scored a 21 to 40, most likely you are failing in one to two categories and are not executing a managerial process. If you scored 40 or higher, you may have never attempted to develop and implement a managerial process, and may need qualified outside help to do so.
An organization that is consistently productive is sustainable and sustainability is the core objective of any organization. Focus on productivity and you will maintain sustainability.