Measuring and Inspiring Better Engagement

We tend to do the best work of our lives when we're highly engaged and passionate about something specific.

I've found it necessary to reflect back on the lessons I've learned during life to become a better leader.  One of the most vivid lessons I've been fortunate to have had occurred in sixth grade when my teacher, Art Lopez, decided to get me engaged in learning by moving me to the front of the classroom.  Mr. Lopez was also my swim coach and was unwilling to settle for mediocre results.  In fact, he outright knew I wasn't fulfilling on my full potential and he was right to move me.  That year my grades soared and he inspired me to improve both my grades and my swimming by simply observing a lack of engagement and making corrections.  He focused on my abilities, telling stories and making lessons interesting and tangible.  Funny enough, I wasn't the only one Art Lopez helped that year.  And when I moved to the next grade the following year, the lessons Mr. Lopez had taught me had stuck.  I begged to sit in the front row to soak up as I could learn.  My grades improved significantly after sixth grade and I learned what it meant to be a bar setter.

Later in life I fell upon hard times with a very depressing life event and my spirit dropped causing me to lose a bit of myself each year thereafter.  I was hard to inspire and my engagement has diminished to an all time low.  I was half the person I had been. Then I met Dr. Bill Hancock.  Dr. Bill was larger than life and when he spoke about Information Security he was inspiring.  I'll never forget the first time I heard him talk about Security, and if he were still alive, I'm sure he would still be telling the story about a young woman who ran after him to ask for a job when he finished his talk that day.  In that moment, I decided that I would never forgive myself for not trying to work for him.  During that job, I helped to develop measurable security programs, work in standards teams, and get engaged with the community. 

The most inspirational part of these security programs was how they guided what the organization did and the means by which staff were led and coached.  In fact, our security engineering teams had the best security education at their finger tips and a career path that helped them to advance and stay engaged.  Our organization designed a system of advancement and rewards with the ultimate level being a Master Architect and the mystique of achieving this goal.  Because of the requirements and testing it took to become a Master Architect, they were considered god-like beings.  Needless to say, everyone was active and engaged in a way I had not previously experienced.  It was one of the best jobs I've ever had and I got to work with really smart people who have gone on to be wildly successful.  It was through that job and Dr. Bill's coaching that I found a new level of inspiration and a passion to help others succeed. 

More importantly, the odd thing I've come to learn over the years is that grades matter, but not because they simply open doors and opportunities.  Grades are actually a good gauge of how much someone is paying attention and provide a measure of engagement.  And even employers create grades in how they evaluate performance.  For those who strive for continuous improvement, it's likely you already know this, but for those unaware of the importance of grades - they do matter.   Measurement is woven into everything we do in an organization including career path and advancement opportunities.  And in my experience, companies that seek to create and keep great talent need to consider the importance of skills development, career path and measurement that drives engagement. 

Organizations often fall short in how they use measurement because it is usually used to assess people without the leadership required to make everyone successful.  Measurement should be used by leaders daily to help them find and inspire folks that need help understanding the mission and how their skills help the organization achieve its outcomes.  Programs that fail to provide a strategy aligned with deliberate measurement and skills development tend to be less successful because engagement tends to be low.

I'm a big fan of Code School approach which uses gamification for people in teams to measure how they are doing as they learn and acquire new skills.  The confidence that this approach creates is amazing and generally brings people together.  I, myself, am not fond of being last on a game board and it goes without saying that being part of a team that is constantly seeking to make one another better is truly the most engaging experience a person can have.  In fact, inspiration comes from sitting around a table working with others that also set their minimum bar at nothing less than awesome.  This approach also allows leaders to take a peek into how to help and where the team is with its overall understanding.  Of greater importance, the team is able to self-organize and allow for new leadership to be created.

Are you focused on increasing engagement and leading others by setting the bar?  Does your team have the skills required to achieve what the business needs or will the work require new skills?  Does the work require learning agility and a high performing team?  It's likely that your organization will achieve more by focusing on the right measurements to build skills, align work and inspire engagement to accelerate success.