When the Track is Poorly Defined
/Way back at the start of my professional career, I trained as a youth worker and spent some time working with at-risk young people on the street. It was challenging work. It was almost impossible to plan a day. I’d show up and the work I did would depend on who was around and what was happening. There were clear objectives for the work, and many individuals where ongoing work was being done.
Outcomes and KPIs were clearly important, however, they were also challenging to define and apply on a shift-by-shift basis.
Every organisation and type of job I’ve worked with since has had elements of work like this — important, but somewhat difficult to define/measure. The challenge is amplified in situations where judgement and creativity are required - situations where what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.
For leaders and teams working in spaces like these:
Direction is more important than detail. Getting very clear about where you are heading and why allows flexibility to create and use opportunities as they arise.
Link direction to a bigger picture. Purpose, mission, and values are some of the ways this can be done.
Have regular conversations about what went well and what could have been done better. These build team understanding of what good work looks like, and recognises progress.
What aspects of your work are difficult to plan and measure?