"What's the difference?" you might be asking.
Well, my take is that effectiveness is about achieving
outcomes, and efficiency is about doing things with
the minimum of effort and waste.
In other words...
...effectiveness is a leadership issue, and efficiency
is more of a management concern.
And leadership is about the 'what' (doing the right
things), leaving management to focus on the 'how'
(doing things right).
Which brings me to...
...the 'efficiency trap'. This is where we get
suckered in by the desire to makes sure things
are being done right, and we lose sight of what's
important and keeping everything on track.
Sometimes...
...efficiency is actually a waste of time!
Getting efficient at things that don't add value
to what we're doing, or don't help to get us
where we're headed is simply not being effective.
Or spending time creating efficient processes
that may only be used infrequently.
It's like...
...pedalling hard, but in the wrong direction
because you've not taken the time to look
at the map!
ACTION POINT
How do you avoid the 'efficiency trap'?
The important thing is to notice how you're
spending your time.
Are you primarily focussing on driving people
to achieve the outcomes - the hard results -
you're looking for?
Or do you find yourself spending an inordinate
amount of your precious time resource on
telling people how and what to do?
If it's...
...the latter, make sure you take some time out
to re-focus, get back your clarity about where
you're going, and invest time in engaging your
people with the vision.
That will give them fresh energy and impetus
to propel you faster - and more effectively -
to achieving your goals.
