Effectivity vs. Efficiency

What means effectivity?

Effectivity means doing the right things, efficiency means doing things right. So, effectivity is the question of what tasks we go after. Efficiency is how well we perform our tasks.

During industrialisation, we needed good managers who assigned tasks to their employees appropriately and efficiently. Employees in factories were largely interchangeable. Their tasks could be learned within a short time. So the focus was clearly on efficiency.

Nowadays, we need people who can lead well. People who can tap into the potential of their employees and facilitate its growth. Employee tasks today are more complex and diverse, requiring a high level of creativity and solution orientation. Many like SVPG (Silicon Valley Product Group) and Google have recognised the benefit of a coaching-oriented leadership style. They achieve more with this than with top-down management. So the focus these days is clearly on effectivity.

For good leadership, it is essential that you can lead yourself well. It is important to use your own time effectively in the first place. Efficiency is secondary for the time being.

Authenticity and integrity are sometimes considered the most central qualities for good leadership.

Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore

If I only learn techniques like asking good questions to lead others well, I’m not being authentic. If I by myself am not a role model for a healthy, sustainable, balanced lifestyle, how can I expect an overworked employee to take to heart my advice to take care of himself and his body?

Leadership means developing yourself while giving others the help they need to grow themselves. Which characteristics make up good leadership depends entirely on the individual person – on you. However, there is one cornerstone that will help anyone get 100% on target on the journey to excellent leadership: The question of what the next right step is. Whoever takes enough time for this question, acts effectively.