Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalachieving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellovledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode three ninety six, and let's talk numbers. Not
Speaker 2: the ones that look pretty in a report or the
Speaker 2: ones that get passed around just to fill slides in
Speaker 2: a meeting. I'm talking about the numbers that actually move
Speaker 2: the needle. This episode is called Metrics that Matter What
Speaker 2: you should be really tracking as a manager, because here's
Speaker 2: the truth. Most managers are tracking the wrong things. They're
Speaker 2: obsessed with vanity metrics, stats that sound impressive but mean
Speaker 2: absolutely nothing when it comes to performance, progress or people.
Speaker 2: So let me tell you what I mean in these
Speaker 2: six areas. Area number one vanity metrics versus value metrics.
Speaker 2: Vanity metrics are those that look good but don't drive decisions,
Speaker 2: think social media likes, number of meetings held, or total
Speaker 2: hours worked. Where value metrics are those that tell you
Speaker 2: something actionable. They indicate what's working, what's broken, and where
Speaker 2: to focus next. So if you're spending your time showing
Speaker 2: off charts, that no one acts on. You're managing for optics,
Speaker 2: not outcomes. Area number two, So what should you be tracking?
Speaker 2: Here are the six metrics that matter in any business
Speaker 2: or leadership role, regardless of history. Employee turnover rate and
Speaker 2: why they leave. If your team is turbulent, you have
Speaker 2: a culture or leadership issue. Exit interviews aren't a checkbox,
Speaker 2: they're your roadmap for improvement. Time to resolution. How long
Speaker 2: does it take your team to solve a problem or
Speaker 2: close a ticket. If you lag here, it usually means
Speaker 2: either poor communication, unclear roles, or broken systems. In customer
Speaker 2: retention rate, if people come once and never return, your
Speaker 2: service might not be the problem. Your follow up in
Speaker 2: relationship building might be. In employee engagement score. This doesn't
Speaker 2: mean smiley faces on a survey. Engagement is about how involved, enthusiastic,
Speaker 2: and committed your people feel. The deeper the buy in,
Speaker 2: the stronger the performance. In quality over quantity, are your
Speaker 2: outputs making impact or are your people just spinning their
Speaker 2: wheels trying to hit arbitrary numbers? Measure the success of projects,
Speaker 2: not just how many you've started. In forecast accuracy. If
Speaker 2: your team constantly misses project, the issue might not be
Speaker 2: the market, it might be how realistic or grounded your
Speaker 2: leadership expectations are Number three from the original list of
Speaker 2: the areas, the dangerous trap of busy metrics. One of
Speaker 2: the most misleading stats is ours worked. If you have
Speaker 2: a team member logging sixty hours a week, don't automatically
Speaker 2: crown them a hero. Ask why is it inefficiency, poor
Speaker 2: time management, or a broken process. Busy doesn't always mean productive,
Speaker 2: and in leadership at your job to distinguish motion from progress.
Speaker 2: Number four track behavior, not just results. So let's go deeper.
Speaker 2: Great managers track behavioral metrics, the stuff under the surface.
Speaker 2: How often does feedback flow up the chain or leaders
Speaker 2: following through on commitments? Is cross team collaboration improving or eroding?
Speaker 2: These aren't numbers that you all find in a spreadsheet,
Speaker 2: but they're the pulse of your team. And when the
Speaker 2: pulse flat lines, no monthly dashboard will save you. Number five.
Speaker 2: What you measure is what you multiply. Here's the leadership
Speaker 2: truth bomb. People do what they're measured by. If you
Speaker 2: track only speed, they'll cut corners. If you track revenue,
Speaker 2: ethics might take a hit, But if you track ownership, communication,
Speaker 2: and impact, you'll get more of it, So be careful
Speaker 2: because what you choose to measure is what your culture
Speaker 2: will mirror. Number six, Build a three part metric dashboard.
Speaker 2: If you want a better system, use this model. People metrics, turnover,
Speaker 2: engagement and internal trust, score and process metrics, efficiency error rates,
Speaker 2: project timelines, and performance metrics. Actual outcomes tied to mission,
Speaker 2: not just financials. If all three categories aren't getting equal attention,
Speaker 2: you're leading on one leg. So stop measuring for applause.
Speaker 2: Too many managers collect metrics just to look smart in
Speaker 2: quarterly meetings. That's not leadership, that's theater. Real leaders track
Speaker 2: what actually moves the team forward, the tough, gritty numbers,
Speaker 2: the ones that don't always look good, but tell the
Speaker 2: truth because the truth is your starting point. And if
Speaker 2: you can't lead, if you're blind to where you really are,
Speaker 2: you have to stop chasing applause and start chasing accuracy.
Speaker 2: Trade the vanity metrics for vital simes because your team
Speaker 2: doesn't need to show they need strategy. This has been
Speaker 2: the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul fell of Alito podcasts, visit Paulfeloalito dot
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