Society is becoming more and more obsessed with assessments. In a race to measure, we often ignore whether what we’re measuring is useful. We are focused on whether students know answers, but aren’t paying attention to how they are learning and adjusting to feedback. We judge employees on putting in the hours, meeting the deadlines and delivering results. We are not concerned whether they are developing new skills or working smarter than the year before.
Seeing where someone currently resides on the curve is important. Knowing their trajectory is even better.
- Allen McCloud’s animation of an inclined throw.
The animation above shows three objects thrown at the same angle. The black object experiences no drag, while the other two aren’t so fortunate. Drag is another word for resistance, which Steven Pressfield aptly uses as a label for what keeps us from doing our best work.
Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.
Steven Pressfield
The War of Art
What would make the above animation of trajectory and drag even more powerful is to see objects thrown with greater force fall shorter than those thrown with less… all because of drag. This would illustrate how people who are assessed as more talented, smarter or more productive may never reach their full potential.
When we continue to focus on assessing where people are when they are at rest, we miss the opportunity to plot where they may be going. We fail to evaluate drag, its effects on people and how how well people adjust to minimize drag. Because, you see, we’re not inanimate objects thrown at an angle. We can adjust to reduce the drag.
We can remove the distractions. We can ignore the criticism. We can do the opposite of what society tells us.
Do you recognize drag affecting your trajectory? How do you adjust to minimize it and maximize your potential?