Results or Efforts Matter More?

Which are you focused on for performance measurement? Results or efforts?

In profit-driven companies, results matter more as part of your performance. Your performance centres round your KPIs, Key Results Areas (KRAs) and goals. Salespeople have to sell as much as they can. Marketers have to deliver on brand communication and brand development. Leaders have to lead the company to higher returns-on-investment (ROI) for their stockholders.

In cost-centres, efforts matter more. How you manage funds and budgets become your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The time your staff spends on keeping the house in order validates their performance and, thus, employability. Values like accountability, integrity, transparency, and due diligence are the expectations of a highly-critical public which is trigger-happy on criticism, blame, and hullabaloo.

In triathlons, the journey is as demanding as reaching the destination. How you achieve your athletic goals is contingent to your efforts during training. Certainly, the more scientific the process the more likely you may attain your results. However, you still have to do then time if you are to be faster, stronger and higher. Your results are very much dependent on your fitness, lowered risk of injury, and how well you feed your body on race-day.

Leadership Lessons: Which matters more to you: results or efforts of your staff? Why? What are you doing to bring either up to speed?