Beyond the Metrics: What really moves Tech Forward
Remember the last time you sat in a roadmap update, or performance review, drowning in numbers and dates, wondering what they really tell you about your team's performance? You're not alone. As Tech Leaders, we often find ourselves caught between measuring everything that moves and actually understanding what makes our teams tick so that we get the most important work done.
Two strategies that I see successful Tech Teams employ when they are looking for strong progress are:
1: They co-create goals - there is no hierarchical play of translating strategies into KPIs and then Balanced Scorecards which are reviewed once a year. By designing goals together, this gives teams the foundation to provide real time feedback so that Leaders can correct course whilst on the journey, not looking in the rearview mirror.
2. They value their values - no matter what aspirational goals are set, these will be near impossible to achieve if your Tech Team is not clear and aligned on values and behaviours. And yes, you can measure progress here too - I will go into this a bit more further on.
So, lets unpack these a little bit further………
What goal-setting mechanism works best?
Let’s consider the main ones before diving into my preferred approach:
S.M.A.R.T. Goals: I’m sure you have sat through the whole ‘SMART’ lecture in workshops and sessions where you write the goals but are told - you need to make it more realistic! Or when will you achieve this by? etc etc. Whilst it has its place in some more operational environments, this approach was developed in 1981 and reflects the needs of those times, but in my opinion, absolutely not of these times, where increased fluidity and adaptability are core to the work.
Key Performance Indicators: this is the method by which most organisations take the goals and translate them into performance metrics, usually with a lovely dashboard indicator where you can see your green, amber and red scores. At surface level this is a solid indicator, however once you consider the many variables you work with in technology, particularly on projects that have cross functional teams involved - this can become a stick to beat you with, and sap morale at speed. In other words, metrics don't reflect whats actually happening - one team member could be performing fantastically well against the KPI, but doing it in a way that is completely against the values of the team or even of the organisational goals. Is volume of tickets closed actually a good indicator? Or does it cover up the fact that Tom didn't really solve the problem, instead he keeps closing tickets within the target timeframe and asking the unfortunate individual to raise a new ticket …….
Balanced Score Cards: I have sat through the pain of both receiving and giving performance reviews using this method. No surprise by that statement that I am not a fan! I have yet to see a BSC that is genuinely connected to the work which the team or function is trying to achieve. It might be controversial but I honestly think it is a lazy, tick-the-box approach to team performance management, and you are pushing potential and great work into limbo.
Objectives and Key Results: Pioneered by Andy Grove at Intel (increasing revenue from $1.9 to $26bln) and dutifully passed on to Google through John Doerr, OKRs is now used by many high calibre companies to stretch their people’s achievements and create new thinking that will keep them ahead of the competition. In the context of this article, OKRs are what will ensure you deliver on the important work. The Objectives are the lofty goals that must be concrete, ideally inspirational and actionable. However, what I find pretty cool is the Key Results part - why? Because its the how…. How will this be actually achieved? This is vital when there are so many moving parts and parties involved. If you are new to the world of OKRs I would highly recommend John’s book ‘Measure what Matters - the simple idea that drives 10x growth’.
All in all, OKRs are the way forward when Tech Teams want to move forward.
How do you value (and measure) your values?
If you are looking at a list of 5 - 7 words such as ‘Integrity’ ‘Respect’ ‘We Listen’ on your screensaver or Team Session deck, then we need to talk :)
Frankly, you and I both know this means nothing other than a tip of the cap to things we would like to do and be when we are not busy doing other things. And then we wonder why meetings and email trails escalate when the pressure is on…….
So what can you do to address this?
Create the space for creativity and conversation: what do these nebulous words actually mean to us as a team? How do we know we are living these values or not? This also provides a great foundation for team members to give feedback when things aren't progressing as planned.
Build a Team Contract - what is in and out when it comes to behaviours? Strategyzer have a really nice template to start with. I have facilitated sessions where people unpacked behaviours such as ‘have my back in and out of the meeting room’, or ‘I don’t appreciate 10 emails in quick-fire - it really gets my back up, please just pick up the phone’ or even ‘please ensure I don't get surprises in the Exec sessions - no matter how bad it is, tell me beforehand’....
Measure your values…. Create a visual people can interact with and plot where they feel the team is performing well (and not) each month/quarter. Tech teams in particular love this model as it is a tangible way of capturing things, celebrating, and raising concerns. If you want some inspiration on how to do this, just hit me up on email and I will send you an example to get you going.
The Bottom Line
The most valuable metrics tell a story about your team's growth, challenges, and successes. They should help you make better decisions, not just fill up dashboards. Focus on measurements that give you actionable insights – ones that help you understand where your Tech Team excels and where they need support.
What metrics have you found most valuable in leading your tech team?