What does A+ mean to you?
Are you grading effort or outcome?
When should we measure effort and when should we measure outcome?
One is important in infinite games, and the other is critical for finite games.
Examples of finite games:
– The important championship trophy 🏆
– The entrance exam
– The quarterly target 🎯
Examples of infinite games:
– Getting better at scoring three-pointers 🏀
– Honing your writing craft 🖊
– Levelling up your expertise
At a project level, we have fixed outcomes to achieve:
🍩 Deliver project as per agreed spec
🍩 Go-live by agreed date
🍩 Stay within budget (unless scope changes)
🍩 Ensure software is quality tested with minimal defects
🍩 etc etc
On a human-centred leadership level, we will focus on effort:
🍩 How the new hire approached their assignment with initiative and resourcefulness, striking a balance between asking for help and independently working things out
🍩 How our experienced hire from a different country has adapted, despite the cultural challenges they faced
🍩 How the team leader coped when personal challenges affected them, and how support is provided
#Leadership is about understanding what truly matters.
A+ effort is different for different people due to each person’s unique constraints and limitations.
As leaders, we need to understand what they are, and whether they are real, or whether they can be dispelled with a bit of gentle nudging.
We have a duty to help push our team to break through their personal limiting beliefs and surpass their potential.
But we need to be able to cut through the noise, and that’s what #RealProjectManagers do.
We see things 👀 as they are, and we take the appropriate action to move things forward.
Do you know the difference between finite and infinite games?
What’s the infinite game you are currently working to master?
#OnThePeiroll
#CutThroughTheNoise
