A few years back, I read a great post by James Slavet, of the venture firm Greylock Partners. In wandering around the web tonight, I happened on it again; it still resonates. Slavet focuses on the fact that managers are measured only on their 'outputs' - financial targets hit, customers served, products made - and rarely on their 'inputs' - what they put into the system that will yield even better results long-term.
As a way to balance the scales, Slavet suggests five insightful, practical input metrics for managers. (And I still love the way he titled them to sound as wonky and metric-ish as possible.). Simply put, Slavet encourages managers to:
- Help assure their employees (especially those working in particularly creative or complex jobs) have the chance to spend at least part of their working hours in "flow"; the uninterrupted, highly concentrated state where the best and most innovative work tends to get accomplished.
- Create an environment where employees generally feel challenged and energized - vs. so bored that they lose interest, or so pressured that they burn out.
- Make sure meetings feel useful and productive (he encourages asking employees to rate meetings and offer suggestions for improvement).
- Encourage and require learning. Slavet notes (and I couldn't agree more) that the "ability to learn is like the compounding interest on an investment: after two or three years, a relentless learner stands head and shoulders above his/her peers." He suggest regularly asking employees what they've learned and how it's helped them, their customers, or their teams.
- Establish a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions with your employees.
Here's the thing I find most valuable about these suggestions: Slavet's underlying principle is that it's as valuable and necessary for managers to focus on the environment they're creating for their employees, as on the results they're trying to accomplish and the hard indicators of movement towards those results.
In fact, I'd take it a step farther. If managers don't focus on creating this kind of environment - open and collaborative; supportive of great work; encouraging active curiosity about how to improve - they are much less likely to achieve the results they want to get.
Because those employees who are best able to achieve great results are also those who will be most responsive to this kind of positive, nourishing environment....and who will be most likely to head for the door (with another job offer in hand) if the environment is stifling, punitive and rigid.
So, as a manager and leader, ask yourself two questions every day:
What can I do to make sure my employees are consistently acknowledged and appreciated for what they do?
What can I do to to support my employees to stay open to learning and to keep getting better all the time?
If you make an honest effort to answer those questions practically, through your words and actions, every day, I would almost guarantee that you and your team will get the 'outputs' you're held accountable for -- and have a great time doing it.
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