Get Better at Getting Better

by Chandramouli Venkatesan

What is measured improves. That is true for our get-better journey also. Unfortunately, we do not effectively measure getting better at work. We have measurement tools for the results we produce, but not for how much better we got producing those results and the quality of our GBM. The five indicators for assessing the GBM quality by yourself are: Assess if your default tendency is to go to the answer, or to go to the method of finding the answer. Identify the pattern of capability issues being thrown up by your reflections and see if the issues remain constant for a long time, which means you are not getting better. Leveraging external evaluations like appraisals and interviews. Do not focus only on the results they produce, but also on the get-better feedback you get. When you change domains, see if you struggle or fly in the new domain. That is the best indicator of your current GBM quality. If you attract high-quality teams, you have a good GBM, and vice versa. Rate yourself on a scale of 0–5 on the indicators. Reassess yourself every three months till you reach 5. If you have a poor GBM, you can fix it only if you know about it and are honest about it. Show the determination to change your GBM if it is poor. It can be done.