In the world of therapy, especially when working with children, progress can be hard to measure. As many therapists point out, not many people want to work with kids in therapy. There are reasons for that:
- Kids don’t always communicate clearly. They may not have the vocabulary or emotional awareness to explain what’s wrong or how they feel (Shirk & Karver, 2011).
- They often don’t see the point of therapy. To them, it’s just another appointment in their week, not an investment in their future (Kazdin, 2017).
- Parents can sometimes be the biggest barrier. The child’s struggles may stem from issues at home, lack of boundaries, inconsistent discipline, and unhealthy communication, but those same parents resist acknowledging their role in the problem(Crespi & Politikos, 2018).
In many ways, this mirrors what happens in the workplace. Employees may be the visible “symptom” of low productivity, but leaders are often the root cause. Just as a parent might resist seeing their part in a child’s struggles, leaders may avoid looking inward to see how their own decisions, systems, or communication styles are stalling the team’s success.
When Leaders Don’t Track Productivity Accurately
The central question is this: How are leaders tracking how well they’re doing?
- Do they have systems to measure their effectiveness?
- Or are they relying on surface-level data that only tells part of the story?
Many leaders operate without a clear, organized way to evaluate themselves. They may track revenue, project completion rates, or headcount, but those numbers don’t reveal whether their leadership style is motivating people, creating a healthy culture, or removing roadblocks to performance (Drucker, 1999).
Worse, sometimes the metrics themselves are misleading. Imagine an employee who works only three hours a day yet is considered 130% productive according to the company’s model. That means they’re spending the rest of the day golfing, running errands, or relaxing, and getting paid for it. The data says “top performer,” but reality says “underutilized talent.” Without a deeper system of measurement, leaders may be rewarding exactly the wrong behaviors.
Listening: The Most Overlooked Productivity Tool
Numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. Leaders must also listen to feedback from their teams, to cues about morale, and to patterns in workflow. Research on organizational communication shows that employees who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform at their best (Edelman, 2019).
In therapy, listening is non-negotiable. A therapist can’t just track “sessions attended” and call it progress; they have to pick up on what’s being said indirectly, what’s avoided, and what’s shifted over time. Similarly, leaders who don’t truly listen will misinterpret the signs.
How Gallup Tracks Productivity vs. Traditional Methods
Gallup has long argued that productivity should be viewed through the lens of employee engagement—not just raw output. Their research shows that highly engaged teams are 21% more productive and 23% more profitable than disengaged teams (Gallup, 2020). They measure things like:
- Do employees feel their work has purpose?
- Do they know what’s expected of them?
- Do they feel their opinions matter?
- Do they have opportunities to learn and grow?
In Gallup’s model, productivity is tied to commitment and emotional investment because engaged employees produce better results over time.
By contrast, many industries still stick to the old-fashioned equation of outputs/inputs, which ignores the human side of work. This is how companies can mistakenly conclude that a part-time effort equals “130% productivity” because they’re only measuring quantity, not quality or sustainability.
The Gas Model: Getting the Right People in the Right
Mindset
The “GAS Model” (Goals, Alignment, Support) reinforces that employees must care about two things:
- The work environment—feeling safe, supported, and respected.
- The work itself—finding meaning, challenge, or satisfaction in the role.
If someone doesn’t care about either, it’s often kinder and more effective to help them move on (Bakker & Leiter, 2010). This isn’t about punishment; it’s about making sure both the individual and the organization are set up for success.
Pleasure and Perfection
Aristotle summed it up centuries ago:
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” (Aristotle, trans. 1999)
When people find genuine satisfaction in what they do, they tend to take ownership, aim higher, and put in the extra care that elevates results. Leaders who ignore this principle risk building a team that delivers only the bare minimum.
The Upbringing Analogy
Productivity habits don’t develop overnight; they’re shaped over years.
Consider Eric’s story: His father wasn’t involved in his upbringing. There was no encouragement to do well in school, no push to participate in sports, and no structured activities that taught discipline or teamwork. Without those early investments, Eric drifted. He dropped out of high school and missed out on formative experiences that could have set him up for long-term success (Masten & Tellegen, 2012).
Eric’s wife’s path was different. Her parents were engaged, supportive, and intentional. They encouraged her education, got her involved in sports, and helped her stick with commitments. She reached a collegiate level in her sport, built resilience through competition, and carried those habits into her academic and professional life (Côté, 1999).
In leadership, the same truth applies: A leader’s investment in their people shapes the future of those people’s success. Just as parenting without involvement leads to underdeveloped potential, leadership without accountability and nurturing leads to stagnant or failing teams.
Final Thought
Tracking productivity isn’t just about logging hours or counting widgets; it’s about measuring the right things. Leaders to ask themselves:
- Am I truly listening to my team?
- Am I tracking the metrics that reflect real progress?
- Am I willing to acknowledge where I might be the obstacle?
Like therapy with children, improving productivity requires patience, empathy, and the humility to see your role in the results. When leaders adopt that mindset, productivity becomes more than a number; it becomes proof of a healthy, engaged, and thriving organization
References
Aristotle. (1999). Nicomachean Ethics (M. Ostwald, Trans.). Macmillan.
Bakker, A. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2010). Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research. Psychology Press.
Côté, J. (1999). The influence of the family in the development of talent in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 13(4), 395–417.
Crespi, T. D., & Politikos, N. N. (2018). Parent engagement in child and adolescent mental health: A critical review. Child & Youth Services, 39(2–3), 160–181.
Drucker, P. F. (1999). Management challenges for the 21st century. HarperBusiness.
Edelman. (2019). Employee experience research: Why listening matters. Edelman Research.
Gallup. (2020). State of the American workplace report. Gallup.
Kazdin, A. E. (2017). Parent management training: Treatment for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. Oxford University Press.
Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (2012). Resilience in developmental psychopathology: Contributions of the Project Competence Longitudinal Study. Development and Psychopathology, 24(2), 345–361.
Shirk, S. R., & Karver, M. (2011). Alliance in child and adolescent psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 48(1), 17–24.