How do I know if I am making a difference as a leader?
This is an important question for every leader. And it is not always easy to answer. But Aubrey C. Daniels and James E. Daniels, in their book The Measure of a Leader, offer a practical framework for measuring the effect of your actions on your people. Just as important, they offer practical advice for using that information to inspire excellent performance in ourselves and the people around us.
Daniels & Daniels bring a valuable perspective to the question of leadership impact. Through their firm Aubrey Daniels International, they work with business leaders around the world on issues of leadership and management. This broad perspective has allowed them to develop a leadership model which is heavily rooted in practical experience. They add distinctive value by articulating practical measures of leadership impact which can be used as feedback to continuously elevate both the leader and the team.
To get right to the heart of the matter, Daniels & Daniels identify four categories and 12 measures of leadership impact.
Momentum. In this first category of leadership impact, the question is: How well do your followers respond to your direction? You can measure your impact on momentum by considering three measures. The first measure is Mass - how many followers respond to the leader's call? The second measure is Velocity - how long does it take followers to take action? The third measure is Direction - how closely do the followers' behaviors match the leader's direction?
Commitment. In this second category of leadership impact, the question is: Are your followers focused on your goals? You can measure your impact on comitment using three measures. First, Vision - how many people can relate their efforts to the leader's vision? Second, Values - How many people can relate an example exemplifying the leader's values? The third measure is Persistence - How many people working with the leader meet their commitments?
Initiative. Daniels & Daniels identify Initiative as the third category of leadership impact. The main question here is, are your followers working together? Here again there are three measures. The first is Teamwork - how frequently to individuals assist their peers? The second measure is Interfaces - how many people actively assist other units? The third measure is Innovation - how many suggestions are made that support the mission or the vision?
Reciprocity. In this fourth category of leadership impact, the question is: Are your followers collectively working with the leader? Reciprocity can be measured in three ways. The first measure is Trust - how often do people take responsibility for mistakes? The second measure is Respect -- how often do followers seek out the leader for advice or counsel? The third measure is Growth - how many followers become leaders?
We can apply this framework for measuring our leadership impact in a quick & informal fashion or in a very in-depth and formal way. From a quick & informal standpoint, it is certainly helpful to ask ourselves on a daily basis whether we are observing momenum, commitment, initiative, and reciprocity in the people around us. To the extent we sense problems, we can go to work on our leadership actions to right the situation. This is where Daniels & Daniels really come through for us. In the Appendix of the book they provide a list of 50 specific & practical things we can do to elevate momentum, commitment, initiative, and reciprocity. As the authors acknowledge, the idea is not to attempt to implement all 50 at any one time. The idea is to focus on areas which need work, and use the suggestions as a guide to action.
The Measure of a Leader is one of the most clear & practical leadership books we have encountered, and we strongly recommend it to anyone who is or aspires to be a leader in either a community or organizational setting. This stuff works.
