LEADING MEASURES.

We have all heard the expression "you are what you eat.” And while there are other factors that make up a persons overall health, the net point is easily understood as true. Similarly, “systems are what systems measure.” And just as all food is not created equal, all metrics are not the same. Lag metrics measure outcomes. They tell us the result of what has already happened (or not happened) in the past - as backward facing autopsies. For example, if a person with a goal to lose a set amount of weight in one year (a goal many of us can relate to) ‘measures’ their weight weekly, that metric doesn’t predict or influence whether they will attain their annual goal - it only indicates current state. Lead metrics measure behaviors that shape outcomes - whether what an individual or organization have been doing daily and weekly is effective in relationship to the goal. Regarding a weight loss goal, leading indicators (lead metrics) would be things such as accounting for daily caloric intake, and or the completion of daily exercise routines. System leaders should be mindful that lag metrics are necessary. They establish goals and outcomes. But without lead metrics, lag measures often produce institutional anxiety, poor decisions or paralysis because - although there is clarity about the goal - there isn’t clarity about what people should be doing to reach the goal. #LeadWithLeadMeasures