HIDDEN METRICS

Executive and leadership coach Bouchard describes a vision for workplace coaching and a distinct set of metrics for analyzing success.

The author asserts that traditional measurements, such as revenue and return on investment, don’t tell the whole story of a business, and she envisions corporate coaching as serving many different roles in an organization. She says that leaders can develop tailor-made metrics for growth, which can, in turn, positively contribute to employees’ work/life balance, team dynamics, and company-wide decision-making. Sometimes, leaders fear asking for coaching help out of fear of seeming needy or weak, so the author advocates creating “hidden metrics” to measure progress within their organizations. To that end, the author focuses on individualized instead of group coaching, believing that it allows people to share deeper and more personal goals. The resulting confidential measurements can then be used to measure subtle behavioral and emotional shifts within an organization. Effective corporate stewardship also requires its own related shift, she says, from task-driven strategy to relationship building. A relationship-based work culture can serve corporations well in times of management transition, she says, since it can aid new managers as they juxtapose unfamiliar tasks with broader planning: “Over time, you’ll be able to reorganize those on your squad so they can take more of your daily responsibilities, freeing you up to lead.” Bouchard then offers familiar leadership tropes on integrating a company’s vision and values into its everyday practices. The book tends toward the more emotional side of business-leadership literature, and, as such, it may not appeal to all readers. Bouchard also presents the development of metrics related to more subtle human behaviors as revolutionary, although this approach is in keeping with the common leadership ideas surrounding work/life balance and the language of workplace fulfillment. Still, the author refreshingly focuses on the value of expressing such ideas through one’s deeds, as well as one’s words. As such, this book belongs alongside similar works focused on building and valuing employee relationships.

Familiar but useful advice on developing and leading sustainable, people-focused organizations.