Do you have a set of personal KPIs? Key Performance Indicators are a metric often used by Sales or Financial people. However, I saw a great graphic that upended old-school thinking and pivoted toward people skills. KPIs morphed into new definitions such as:
* Keep People Informed
* Keep People Involved
* Keep People Interested
* Keep People Inspired
The graphic highlights an important point: There’s more to life than What you achieve. And when uncertainty is afoot, keeping alliances first becomes even more critical.
But are you giving this idea the side eye because you’re a get-it-done-bottom-line kind of person? Then think of it this way: Successful products and services have more going for them than big ideas. They’re built with heart and soul—and that requires engaged people.
Let’s walk through a case study where the work skills of leadership and courage were put to the test.
In the article “Leading Change in a Company That’s Historically Bad at It,” Ron Carucci tells the story of his client, Craig.
Although Craig was a veteran turnaround guy, he was anxious about overhauling an outdated operations system. Simply said, the track record was disastrous! By the time he arrived, his new team had undergone two reorgs, one plant upgrade, and three technology platforms.
To make things more complicated, Craig knew everyone would be skeptical since he was an external hire. Go-to tactics like being optimistic fell flat. So, he shifted gears and modified KPIs solely from implementation measurements to keeping people informed, involved, interested, and inspired.
The team wasn’t expecting his stump speech. He said, “I know the last five years have been costly. By my calculations, you’ve spent tens of millions of dollars, invested countless hours and emotional commitment, and you’ve told me you have little to show for it. Now I come along announcing yet another attempt. If I were you, I’d be rolling my eyes, too. I want you to know how sorry I am for all you’ve sacrificed in exchange for broken promises of change. I haven’t earned the right to ask you to try again. But if you’ll hear me out, I’d like to tell you why I believe this time could be different.”
In the June series, Three Essential Work Techniques to Handle Change, we’re discussing three qualities to help you thrive when you face change. So far, we’ve talked about creativity and agility. Quality #3 is courage.
The old way of bossing up was to set KPIs in a vacuum, then put blinders on and stick to those goals. But as the case study shows, even the best plans for perfect outcomes can get thrown off by unexpected events like reorgs, plant upgrades, and technology glitches. You can’t avoid change—you can only manage it.
However, facing snags doesn’t mean you’re stuck with bad habits and tired ways of working. Instead, setbacks are a sign to re-route and make honest, thoughtful, brave decisions. In practice, that concept looks like confronting difficult truths the first time around and choosing a solid team over statistics.
The next time you face change, support yourself with the KPIs that matter: Keeping people informed, involved, interested, and inspired. Here are three swaps to design your personal KPIs:
Every endeavor is powered by a How, and projects triggered by change require special care. George Bernard Shaw put it this way: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” So, when roadblocks happen, make change easier by setting statistics aside and putting people first.