Leadership: Assessing Results

Comment: This is the seventh post of the Leadership Process series. I began this series because I saw a lack of rigor and discipline to leadership. The purpose of these posts is to look at a process model used by leaders. 

Assessing Results is to Monitoring and Controlling

Perhaps one of the most rigorous efforts in the leadership process is assessing results. This effort can involve volumes of data, numerical computations, qualitative reviews, and opinions. The mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis can be frustrating for some professionals as many people want cold hard facts to substantiate a view but most efforts do not lend well to meaningful analysis. Classic project management is concerned with Earned Value Management, EVM, a quantative measure that attempts to relate money spent to earned progress. This is a financial measure that should work well in the Mobilizing Resources phase of the process but is not supported well outside that phase.

The truth of the matter is that Assessing Results is mostly an art than a science. However, there are two methods that provide a strong solution for assessing results;  Effects Based Operations / Outcomes (EBO) and Measureable Orgnizational Value (MOV). I have illustrated in this blog posting, ITIL Affects MOV, one use of EBO and MOV. In that posting, I created a linkage between strategy and task using a variety of measures that are easily formulated and tracked in order to make decisions about money and efforts.

EBO: Effects Based Outcomes

Most often there are multiple objectives and effects sought by the leadership. The use of an Effects Based Operations, EBO, can provide a strong framework for measurement combining both qualitative and quantitative measures. EBO originated out of the need in military operations to identify and achieve meaningful outcomes. In short, EBO details the reason or purpose the military takes action and includes when to cease actions. The United States military defines EBO as a coordinated set of actions directed at shaping the human behavior of the battlespace during peace, crisis, and war (Smith, 2002, p. xiv). This may translate to the private sector as a coordinated set of deliberate efforts designed to achieve specfic outcomes in the marketplace. For example, an organization may have an intent of capturing market share, achieving control of market supply points, or reducing costs through economies of scale. There are associated set of actions with these outcomes. If framed correctly then the effort becomes focused and assessing results is simplified because we understand what to assess from the get go.

The general framework for EBO begins with some sort of intent then the establishment of a strategy and strategic objectives. Each objective should have two or three effects that can be measured or has Measures of Effectiveness, MOE. The use of triggers and indicators are associated with the MOE to spawn decisions. Overall, the framework is intended to provide options, agility, coordination, and information mobilization. Options tailor to a situation with observations increases the impact. Agility stems from the focus on networked assets and the ability to adapt to emergent conditions. Coordination enables complex actions and relationships to pull together understanding the intent and objectives. Information mobilization determines how well EBO brings to bear expertise and knowledge impacting flexibility and decisionmaking.

MOV

Ask any professional or MBA graduate student what is a way to measure a project or business opportunity? Nearly all will respond Return On Investment, ROI. However, ROI falls gravely short on measuring most business objectives. ROI is myoptic in that it is only focused on one dimension of performance, financial. Corporate Governance, good will, and social objectives of an operation are not capture well with ROI. Measureable Organizational Value, MOV, is usually a single measurement associated with a strategy or objective indicating the progress towards or the achievement of that strategy or objective.  MOV does not measure the perfomance of work by the organization's staff or how well they did their jobs. MOV does measure how what was accomplished serves the organizations goals and objectives.

MOV is always assigned to strategy and strategic objectives. When coupled to EBO,  measures, effects, and objectives should not only align with MOV but support it directly. In doing so, the combination of MOV and EBO become a tool for inplementing strategy-to-task.

Assessing Results

With MOV as the overall measure and EBO as the framework, leaders can assess the progress of the mobilized resources in the project and towards the overall effort. Of course, this system as with others must be determined early in the leadership process during Goaling Setting in order to know what to expect and if progress is being made towards the expectations. The idea is to narrow the gap between expectations and realizations. The use of performance triggers and indicators will provide decision points for redirecting resources either to the project or to other efforts.  Knowing the upper and lower limits of performance will indicate actions necessary to correct the project tracking. The use of MOV will indicate progress towards the strategy.

As triggers fire and decision points are reached, actions will be taken to adjust the effort and refocus the direction on the strategic objectives and outcomes. These decisions will then roll up into the next phase of Plan for Updates. If the effort has met the MOV and EBO measure's then the vision has achieved the endstate and the effort should be closed out. This is the goal, to closeout the project upon achievement of the strategic objectives and vision. 

References:

Smith, E. (2002). Effects based operations: applying network centric warfare in peace, crisis, and war. DoD Command and Control Research Program. ISBN 1-893723-08-9. 

The Leadership Process

Comment:  Leadership is a deliberate and methodical process of rallying people to a cause they feel they have a stake in then skillfully achieving the end state. Leadership does not stop with the vision but requires one to become a leaders of leaders as strategy is put to task. The leadership process model is an overaching framework that leaders follow.

The Leadership Process

Many people think of leadership as a passionate charismatic person that others identify with and adoringly  follow sheepishly. They may feel a sense of safety, community, and camaraderie under a leader. However, leadership is much more than a father figure. Leadership results in durable and tangible impacts in the lives of people. Poor leadership damages lives and causes real injury to more than just those who follow them.  Understanding the core leadership processes shown in Figure 1, will aide in understanding how to make the choices and develop positive leadership results. Leadership centers on formulating vision and achieving goals by leading people to the end state.

Figure 1: The Leadership Process

Problem identification is at the root purpose of leadership. Leaders see something that is not correct, not just, or not right. They have an internal calling, moral compass, or moral imperative to take action in order to fix the problem arriving at some vision or end state. One of the challenges is correctly identifying the problem. Often people latch onto a symptom rather than the root cause. Leaders are good at determining root causes.

Once the problem is correctly identified, the leader sets goals or objectives then puts together some sort of strategy to achieve the desired end state. This initiates a strategy-to-task effort. A leader must ensure the top intent becomes bottom action and is thinking about this challenge at this point. The goal setting process is distinct from goals / changes or change management. 

Leaders must have a following. Therefore, they must build a constituency of stakeholders and followers. These people are the advocates or evangelists for the leaders vision. They have a stake in the outcome and believe in the objective. Often stakeholders bring resources to the effort. 

The vision or goal has some sort requirements that draw upon capacities and capabilities that are not  fully or currently available. Identification of the organizational design exposes requirements and determines the resources necessary to advance the vision towards the goals and end state.

Resources are mobilized to procure the shortfalls and build broader base support for the objectives. The outcome of mobilizing the resources creates the conditions and elements for the objective to be realized. Resources include manpower, money, materiels, and means or methods of advancing the goal. 

An assessment is made whether or not the end state has been achieved. If not, then an assessment is made to determine the shortfalls and adjustments that are necessary to move forward. 

Once the assessment shortfalls are determined, then there is a Plan for Updates that adjusts the goals and objectives for another go around until the endstate is achieved. 

The leadership process model applies well to most any vision or actions that a leader chooses to pursue. Vision that struggles to build a constituency usually falls by the way side. It is also possible for the leadership, vision, and constituency to pursue questionable and even unethical or immoral visions. The model degrades or falls apart under these conditions and those visions usually are imposed rather than develop.

Leadership Builds on Democratization

Current leadership models focus on democratization of design and the process. This is commonly thought of as reform in which the leader attracts a constituency because the constituency's have a stake in the outcome. While the leader brings focus, direction, and puts a framework to achieving the vision or end state the constituency mobilizes the resources and skills necessary to effect the vision. Understanding democratization processes and management of the stakeholders and other followers is essential to success. 

In the course of the leadership process, leaders may use Effects Based Outcomes, EBO, to put strategy-to-task ensuring top intent becomes bottom action. They may employ Measurable Organizational Value, MOV, to ensure that the actions they are taking result in measurable effects and contribute value to the organization.  

Overall, leadership is multi-faceted. Many folks fail to realize that there are leaders of followers, leaders of leaders, and leaders who lead leaders of leaders. Most of all, one individual may have to fill all three roles but most often only focuses on only one role.