I recently finished reading “Glow” which was a book that was an interesting mix of innovation, business and positive psychology (among other things). In the book author Lynda Gratton explains what she calls “virtuous” and “vicious” cycles, the former being one which promotes cooperation and the later competition. Without going into detail, the cycles are positive reinforcing loops which include practices, norms and language.

I was thinking about this is a little more detail today, and wondered about the role key performance indicators, KPIs (and similar metrics), had on an organizations capacity to foster innovation and growth. I’ve observed first hand instances where KPIs (and similar evaluation models) have seemingly resulted in a combative and negative workplace. I have personally observed occasions where it was clear that (counter-productive) employee behavior was driven from KPIs and similar metrics that effectively rewarded such behaviour.

For example, I’ve been present in meetings where some of the most vocal “contributors” are motivated to speak because it relates to their KPIs, rather than offering something of “real value” to the group and organization. This appears to be both ineffective and inefficient from the point of view of the organization. With KPIs being such a common form of evaluation for employees, I wonder how much thought is given to the ways KPIs of individuals interrelate within the organization, and how successful KPIs are to contributing to an open, cooperative workplace. Maybe this is a system worth exploring and modeling in more detail perhaps?

Links
Glow: http://tiny.cc/Y7I7v