Self charter: Success Measures

This is Section Four of a five-part series on Self Charters, an exercise in self-management and personal accountability. In this series, I explore how to design a charter that helps clarify values and establish a framework for guiding one's actions. Click here to start from the beginning. Keep reading to learn more about defining your self charter's success measures.

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Is the work working? Does the sum of my self-care effort justify the result it produces?

In our relentless pursuit of "success," we often find ourselves caught in the grind, moving from one task to the next without pausing to ask a critical question: is this work actually working for me? We track deadlines, revenue, and project milestones with ruthless efficiency, yet our most important metrics, our well-being and personal growth, often go unmeasured.

It's a common trap: equating success solely with external achievements. But what if there was a better way to measure yourself? A framework that puts your inner state and personal growth at the center of the scorecard? For me, it all comes down to a simple, powerful question: "Is the work working?"

This isn't just about a project's completion or a paycheck's size. It's a deep inquiry into your personal return on investment. Does the sum of your self-care effort justify the result it produces? If the answer is a resounding "yes," then you are, by all accounts, generally successful.

The eternal goal isn't perfection; it's being generally successful the majority of the time. This is my benchmark, and I've found that measuring myself against a specific set of criteria gives me the best shot at hitting that mark.

Your Personal KPIs

Traditional metrics don't tell the whole story. To truly measure if your "work" is working, you need to look at a different set of key performance indicators.

• The Learn vs. Earn Balance: Are you learning as much as you're earning? This is a fundamental tension in any career. The most successful professionals are the ones who prioritize their intellectual capital alongside their financial capital. If your earnings are soaring but your personal growth has flatlined, the work isn't working.

• Your Peace Index: How often do you feel at peace? This is a powerful, non-negotiable metric. It’s not about avoiding challenges but about the baseline state of your mind. If you are constantly in a state of chaos, the work is actively working against you.

• The Bounce-Back Factor: How do you recover from a low moment? Resilience isn't about avoiding failure, it's about the speed and grace with which you return to a state of equilibrium. A healthy recovery is a sign of a strong foundation.

• 360° Feedback from Your Circle: How are you rated by those who interact with you daily? This includes your direct reports, your trusted peers, and your leaders, coaches, and sponsors. A holistic view from all angles provides an honest and complete picture of your impact.

Maintaining a Healthy Response to Being Measured

The act of measurement can be a source of anxiety, but it doesn't have to be. Cultivating a healthy response to feedback is just as important as the metrics themselves. It's a practice, not a destination.

• Listen Closely: When receiving feedback, especially when it's constructive, listen with a quiet mind. Resist the urge to defend or explain. Just listen.

• Synthesize Insights: Don’t just take one person’s feedback at face value. Synthesize insights from a multi-level group of contemporaries. Look for patterns, not isolated comments.

• Check In with Yourself Often: Regularly perform a situational framing check, especially when emotions run high. Ask yourself: "What are the facts, apart from how I feel about them?" and "What are possibilities, and what are probabilities?" These questions are your anchors, keeping you grounded when the emotional tide tries to pull you away from reality.

The Work is Working When You Do

Measuring yourself by these criteria isn't about finding a new way to be hard on yourself. It's about building a sustainable framework for success that puts you, your growth, your peace, and your resilience, at the center.

So, take a moment. Pause. And ask yourself: Is the work working?

Ready to build your own personal scorecard? Start with one of these metrics this week and see what you discover.

Next: Self-charter: Quality Standards