JANUARY 16, 2024

It’s Time To Evaluate Leaders Beyond Their Numbers

What do we measure leaders on? Deliverables, profitability, fundraising, productivity…

How often are leaders measured on the health of their organizations?

Maybe it’s about time.

After all, how are those “hard metrics” achieved, if not by committed, equipped, engaged employees?

I’m going to tell you a story that may surprise you, coming from a DEIB consultant.

I know an HR leader with a very high-performing team.

The problem was that the projects she championed weren’t aligned with the company’s true needs. She took them on in part to make herself and her team look good.

She “pushed” her projects on the organization, instead of “pulling” out the organization’s needs. And her team “held it over” other teams, letting it be known how efficient, effective, and productive they were.

As you can imagine, many other departments were frustrated, even questioning if this group was even necessary.

One of this team’s projects was “diversity hiring.” But they were judging themselves on the number of diverse hires, not on the right hires.

When leadership questioned this executive about aligning her efforts with the mission, the pushback was, “If we don’t do this, the organization will fail!”

Had her time been focused on righting past wrongs, or making it safe for underrepresented employees, or elevating untapped talent across the organization, the organization would have benefitted by getting what it really needed.

But these are tough challenges few leaders really want to take on.

When a team gets results while everything underneath is broken, then what’s the cost?

If you would like support making organizational health part of what you measure, reach out. We’re here to talk.