Reading through “Owning Up” by Ram Charan, one of the most significant questions, that stuck with me was “What is the most significant contribution you have made to the company.” Why is this a question, every employee should ask themselves, not just board members?
Productive Action vs. Activity
If you think about today’s workplace, how much time are you spend on advancing your companies goals? By goals, I mean make more customers and make them happier and not just fulfill your performance measures, OKRs or bonus requirements. Between meetings, E-Mails, and reports you might come up with only a little time spent on productive work. The higher you are, the more likely it is that your day is taken over by all kinds of tasks questions and actions, that do not add to the value you create.
By taking a good look at the task you are doing from a value perspective, you can turn the work you do around. You will engage in activities that bring the company forward instead of just doing your time. Considering, that the US is one of the most overworked and underproductive nations in the developed world, a hard look at what we are doing with our work time might not be a bad idea.
Similar, from a company perspective it is a good idea to have your employees ask that question. From the directors and CEO to the workers, if everyone can name their most significant contribution, you can increase the profits of the company or at least find the laggards, who do not contribute to the companies goals.
Happiness
However, this question is not only crucial to the companies bottom line. Employees focusing on accomplishments are happier with their jobs. Reaching goals helps us identify with our employers and thus makes us like our work more. This happiness, in turn, makes us more motivated, which in turn makes us work more and better, which restarts the whole process — all without putting in a single hour of our time more. Higher productivity should become visible in higher earnings for both companies and employers.
Again, I already named the shareholder value of higher earnings. However, happy employees also treat the customers better, boosting growth and the public image. Just imagine your retail experience, walking into a store, where the employee is genuinely happy about the customer vs. one where everything about the clerk screams GO AWAY!
Job Security
Lastly, the companies growth ties directly to your job security. Not only if you are an employee, but especially in upper management and the board. Shareholders are much more likely to replace you if you are not productive.
Thus looking at what you are achieving in contrast to how many hours you spend, greatly enhances your prospects. It also shows your leadership skills, that you can look at the bigger picture and see your contribution and performance. Lastly, if you make excellent contributions, it gives you significant leverage if you ask for an increase in compensation.
Results
Looking beyond the extensive and convoluting metrics often associated with OKRs, performance boosts and others can significantly help you to see the bigger picture. This view then can enhance your performance, the contribution you make to the company and the overall results of the business. We often say that results count, but usually only measure time spent at work. Most of us, however, would instead work with someone who gets the things done, than with a person, who is 60h in the office.