Knowing where the team is, is a fundamental responsibility of leadership.
Keeping track of progress is a serious task that should occupy a reasonable part of all leaders’ time.
But knowing where you are isn’t enough.
Knowing whether you hit the target or not, isn’t enough.
All Leaders ask “Are we there yet? or “did we win?”
A better Leadership Question is “Where are we headed?”
Checking progress shouldn’t be a binary question. Win/lose, hit/miss.
In fact it mustn’t be a binary question.
Short term winning or losing only really matter if they lead to success or failure long term.
Losing a game might be a good thing if it helps you win the season.
So, if you’re only checking whether you’re on track, but not looking forward and checking if you’re going to be on track are you doing your full job as a leader?
If you’re just taking score, but not breaking that result down into component parts, are you doing your full job as a leader?
If you’re just looking at “month to date” or “year to date” and not tracking the changes in daily or weekly or monthly results, are you doing your full job as a leader?
“Knowing whether you hit the target or not, isn’t enough…”
Good performance reporting is like a video, showing past, present & future as a story.
A story with detail.
Good performance reporting tells the team where they need to focus to get to their final destination.
What has to change.
Good performance reporting gives bad news or good news with the same voice.
If yours aren’t like that, if they don’t point you to a conclusion, are you doing it right?
Good performance reporting doesn’t just tell you where you are, but honestly tells you whether you’re going to make it in the end.
Good leaders ask “where are we headed”
Good leaders also have the courage to hear the answer.
Do you?