In an effort to define what exactly is within your good day at work it may be helpful to reflect on the world of AFL first.
Good for any AFL player is clearly defined for the individual and the team. Good for the individual means that they have done they’re assigned role in a game and they have the stats to prove it. With the likes of Champion Data now providing data that captures the likes of : Free’s for; Free’s against; Distance gained: handballs; kicks; tackles; hard ball gets; goals and points etc, players and clubs are able to define with numbers what a good game looks like in terms of metrics. Imagine if the same data applied for your work day?
Building further on the AFL example is the annual view of what “good” looks like. The Premiership is the defining view of good. Indeed dramatic improvement may also stand for good, but only for a period of time. The AFL season starts and finishes. It has a beginning and an end. Players are kept; traded; delisted or retired in an annual cycle. Free agents negotiate move’s to other clubs based on performance. The meaning of “good” is largely defined for the AFL teams and players, albeit there is always room for subjective views.
So what’s the equivalent for an employee?
Generally their season is far less defined. People know of financial years but many are oblivious to its commencement and closure. People may be in roles and companies for many years with little change or sense of seasonal completion. Does anyone keep a record of your vital stats? Is there a Champion Data equivalent? How is good defined beyond a subjective end of year appraisal? More importantly, how is good defined for the company (team) for the year? Is there a premiership that can be won? Is there a set of metrics that represent success?
Traditionally this last pieces comes with a clear yes. Publicly, shareholders seek a return on their funds employed. This can be articulated and the share price will respond on the level of success accordingly .However, the vital bridge is the level of connectivity between the stated corporate objective and the individual employee’s role in assisting in its delivery. At it’s most simplest, a person should start the day asking the person they report to “What would a good day look like for us today, boss?”
Are the vital statistics that impact on the P+L clearly articulated, understood and measured? If they are then the companies view of “Good” can be understood and sought by the employee. If not, then employee satisfaction and impact is clearly going to suffer because of the resulting misalignment of effort and impact. Herein lies the heart of margin erosion. Very few would deliberately set out to cause it. No one would want to be identified as the cause of it. And no single person I’ve met would not do anything in their power to address any behaviour or action that negatively impacted on theircompany’s performance.
My eldest son has learnt to ensure a good weekend with necessary acces to our vehicle and time to do his own things. He’s worked out that a good day for me and therefore him is when he has the lawns mowed and the paths swept by late Friday afetrnnoon. “Anything else Dad ?’ is his final question to ensure all is good to go. Masterful.