Number 173 – What the Numbers Are Teaching People

Eliminate metrics that drive inappropriate and counterproductive behaviors and decisions (when empowered to do so).

Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic

Metrics rarely fail on their own.  They do exactly what they are designed to do. The problem is that people do exactly what the metrics ask.  Over time, the measure becomes the work. 
Production numbers get protected instead of processes. Targets get met by moving problems sideways. Decisions get delayed because the metric window hasn’t closed yet.

None of this looks malicious. It looks responsible.  People learn quickly what is rewarded, what is punished, and what is ignored. They adapt. They comply. They optimize the score.
And quietly, the system begins to work against itself.  Safety events go unreported because they “count.” Quality issues get deferred because they disrupt flow. Maintenance is postponed because uptime is being watched.

The metric is clean. The behavior is not.  This is where leadership is tested.  Not by choosing better numbers, but by noticing when a number is producing behavior you would never ask for directly.  When the metric requires explanation, when people manage around it, when the work no longer makes sense without a spreadsheet, the metric is no longer serving the system.  It is governing it.

Eliminating a metric is not an analytical act. It is a moral one.  Because the moment you are empowered to remove it, you are choosing between two futures: One where people continue to perform for the measure. And one where they are allowed to perform for the work.  Not every leader has the authority to do this. But when you do, hesitation is information.

If a metric must be protected even when it drives the wrong behavior, then the metric has become more important than the people.  Improvement does not begin by adding better measures.  Sometimes it begins by having the courage to stop counting the wrong things.

Questions For Your Consideration

What behaviors do our current metrics quietly reward?

Where are people managing around the numbers instead of improving the work?

Which measures require constant explanation or defense?

If empowered, which metric would we remove first—and why?