Metrics Matter

Leaders rely on numbers for good reason.

They help us see patterns, track progress, allocate resources, and make decisions. When a metric moves in the right direction, it can be reassuring.

But your dashboard may be giving you accurate answers to questions that aren’t sufficient to understand what’s happening in your organization.

Reports are down.

That tells you fewer reports were made. It doesn’t tell you whether fewer problems occurred—or whether people became less willing to report them.

Hiring is up.

That tells you more people were hired. It doesn’t tell you whether they’re staying or what they’re experiencing once they arrive.

Representation looks strong.

That may be true overall. But disaggregate the numbers by department, level, or leadership role, and you may see something different.

None of those numbers are necessarily wrong.

They may simply be answering a narrower question than the one you need answered.

Ask More of the Metric

Before deciding what a number means, ask three questions:

What does this number actually tell us?

Start with exactly what the number measures. Don’t assume it tells you more than it does.

What doesn’t it tell us?

Consider what might be happening outside the boundaries of that number.

What should we look at alongside it?

Sometimes another metric provides the missing context. Sometimes you need to hear from the people whose experiences created the numbers in the first place.

The goal isn’t to distrust the dashboard. It’s to ask better questions of it.

So the next time a number appears to confirm that things are moving in the right direction, take a second look with these questions in mind:

What do you know because of the number?

And what do you still need to understand?

Metrics matter. So it’s important to know what they can—and don’t—tell you.