Quantity over quality part 2
As I look at this white supremacy characteristic, these two aspects of it jumped out at me because I’ve encountered them the most in my career.
- most or all resources directed toward producing quantitatively measurable goals
- things that can be counted are more highly valued than things that cannot, for example numbers of people attending a meeting, newsletter circulation, money raised and spent are valued more than quality of relationships, democratic decision-making, ability to constructively deal with conflict, morale and mutual support
It feels like this is central to many business thinking. How do we get more profits? How do we get more donations? How do we serve more people? The thought seems to be one-sided like the points of the characteristics mention towards your own or organizations benefit. Many times when you push back on these ideas in a meeting you are said to “not wanting the organization to succeed” or “focused on the wrong things that don’t matter”. It’s always made me question what is so wrong with including the consideration of profits at the cost of what (employees, ethics/morals)? Will people not donate when you value relationships? Will serving more people get us breadth and depth or just breadth?
That’s why as I grew into leadership roles I worked on establishing key concepts and guiding principles to how I lead and why I lead. In a training early into my career I was introduced to a framework, Relationships, Process, Results. I used that framework to build out the three p’s below. Essentially, I wanted to make sure that there is an opportunity to balance all three dimensions of it or else we risk unintended consequences that could be dangerous and oppressive:
Balance of the three P’s — People, Process, Performance. These three items are my areas of success. You need all three to be successful.
People
i. Key Points
1. How people experience each other
2. How people relate to the organization
3. How people feel about their involvement and contribution
ii. Key Questions
1. Do team members feel supported?
2. Do team members trust each other?
3. Do team members feel valued?
Process
i. Key Points
1. How the work gets done
2. How the work is designed and managed
3. How the work is monitored and evaluated
ii. Key Questions
1. Is the process clear and logical?
2. Is the process efficient?
3. Is the process appropriate for the task?
4. Are we being responsive to people?
Avoid treating people as objects
- Tools or vehicles for your tasks/goals
- Obstacles to your tasks/goals
- Irrelevant to your tasks/goals
Treat people as people
- Person has hopes, dreams, fears, and value
Performance
i. Key Points
1. Completion of the task
2. Achievement of the goal
ii. Key Questions
1. Are the results of high quality?
2. Are the results timely?
3. Do the results meet customer requirements (internal and external)?
