Expand the way you measure effectiveness

- Think about it. We've all seen them, the leaders with great track records for achieving tangible results, and yet they struggle to engage and nurture their teams. Despite their impressive records and subject matter expertise, these leaders may fall short when it comes to transferring their knowledge and inspiring their employees. Consider this scenario. A design firm has a project manager who consistently makes sure that his team completes projects on schedule and within budget. On paper, he looks highly efficient, but the truth is his team's morale is low. The employees aren't terribly engaged. Essentially, they're doing just enough to hit their numbers, but nothing more. The culprit? The manager's highly independent style is overshadowing the team's ability to contribute to the flight plan and shape the journey. He tells them exactly what to do and how to do it. As a result, his team members miss out on the sense of involvement that comes with actively participating in the project's direction. Here's the twist. What if the same project manager changes the way he thinks about evaluating his success, like considering his ability to cultivate spaces where team members feel free to share their insights, voice their concerns, and offer suggestions? He could also let go of the perceived obligation to provide all the answers and start asking more open-ended questions. Getting his team members more involved in developing the path forward actually increases his leadership impact. With this different approach, he's fully tapping in to the collective intelligence and creativity of the group, and the employees begin to feel a stronger sense of ownership. That shift can be a real game changer, with impressive results. For decades, we've been conditioned to think about leadership effectiveness with narrowly defined parameters, so it's easy to get stuck relying on those traditional success metrics. But today, the strongest companies are searching for more forward-thinking leaders who recognize that evaluating their impact involves a much broader spectrum. It sounds counterintuitive, but when you move beyond the traditional metrics, you have the greatest potential to enhance the bottom line. The way you measure your impact truly matters.