Being a leader, one of the most interesting and challenging aspects of running a team is keeping the team productive while being equally productive yourself. Productivity isn’t just about getting “more and more” things done. Productivity is more about creating an “environment” where every team member is “empowered” (not Feels empowered) to contribute their best.
What is Productivity
Mathematically, Productivity is pretty simple:
$$Productivity = {Output \over Input}$$
Basically, Productivity completely depends on Input & Output.
Side Note: The amazing thing about Mathematics is, its always right and as and when we learn more and more about nature, we see a lot of mathematics behind the scenes.
Let’s Deep Dive
Now that we understand how to achieve “Productivity”, lets define the Inputs also Outputs.
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As Leaders, Its important for us to define these inputs and outputs clearly.
Output
Output are the goals you set for yourself or a team member. Few examples:
Innovative Solutions
Value Added or Cost Saved
Eye catchy designs
Features developed or bugs fixed
Critical Bugs identified
Ideas shared to improve the client.
Writing secure and high quality code
Customer/Team satisfaction
Growth
Make sure you define Outputs smartly.
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SMART —> Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time Bound.
Curious & Interested about Settings Smart Goals ? Read my detailed blog here.
Inputs are what as leaders we need to provide to ourselves or a team member. Few examples:
Fear Free Environment (Not talking about job safety, that is a myth).
Investment (Health, Time, Energy).
Decision taking ability (Empowerment).
Effective feedback with a permission to fail after trying.
Knowledge sharing & mentoring
Support (Be it direction, upskilling, reskilling etc.)
Tools and Tech
Empathy
If you observe the list carefully, the inputs needed for productivity defines the “environment”.
As Leaders, make sure Inputs are “Clear” and “Relevant”.
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CLEAR: Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, Refinable. RELEVANT: Resourceful, Engaging, Leveraged, Effective, Verified, Adequate, Necessary, Timely.
The real world
Of course when we deal with humans, there are a lot more things to consider. Few examples:
Poor Leadership
Bureaucracy
Hypocrisy
Politics
Non lean Processes
Lack of Trust
Conflicts/Incompetency
More about this some other day, Lets stick to the math for now.
Where things go wrong
As leaders, productivity is never “enough” personally. We set the bar so high for ourselves, always try to solve more problems as quickly as possible and never get settled for less.
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Things usually go wrong when inputs and outputs do not correlate. Its that simple.
Many productivity issues arise when inputs and outputs are not aligned or don’t correlate as expected. Few examples:
Unmet Expectations & Goals
Burnout, Stress & Un-happiness
Reduced Innovation.
Resource misuse.
What you can do?
Provide CLEAR and RELEVANT Inputs.
Set SMART Outputs.
Monitor Productivity.
Fine Tune and Improve.
Some More Mathematics
When someone is NOT Performing well, they “clearly” need more “Relevant“ inputs.
$$Productivity = {Output \over Input++}$$
When someone is Performing well, adding more inputs will amplify output.
$${ Productivity \times Input++} = Output++$$
Next Steps
Ready to amplify your team's productivity? Start implementing these strategies today and witness the difference in energy, engagement, and results. I suggest you Start small, stay consistent and see big results.
Hope this blog transforms the way you or your team works.
Thank You
If you have reached so far, congratulations. Please feel free to share your thoughts via the comments.
Let's Connect
Hi, I’m Sandeep Gokhale, and I'm passionate about building high-performing teams at my company, Techvito and I write about Technology, People, Processes and some more fun stuff.
Need a tailored approach? Let’s connect— Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Until Next time!
