The Data Fluent Culture - Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication - page 139

broader goals and measures of progress. Metrics should have a hierarchical
connection that allows the front-line staff to see how their measures link up
to the key metrics for the whole organization. In nature, form follows function,
and we have countless examples of alignment between physical attributes and
environmental conditions. Similarly, the more individuals have a clear line of
sight between their daily contributions and the organization's priorities, the
better able (and willing) they are to make smart decisions and commit their
energy in ways that sustained overall organizational performance.
Reference key Metrics and Data Analysis When Communicating Goals
Data fluent leaders lead by example. Accordingly, leaders must model reliance
upon data analysis and reference key metrics when communicating goals and
priorities to stakeholders. To build a data fluent culture, leaders must commu-
nicate in the language of their metrics, using data to support their decisions
about organizational progress. By doing so, they reinforce the importance of
the selected key metrics and demonstrate their data literacy in public forums,
thus modeling wanted habits of mind.
Avoiding Metrics Pitfalls
Having spent a bit of time focused on how leaders can use metrics to benefit
their organizations, this section concludes by providing a few warnings about
potential pitfalls in the use of metrics.
Although selecting the right metric can foster success, the wrong metric can
create unexpected, misguided, and counter-productive behaviors. The wrong
metrics can create incentive structures for behaviors that actually work against
company goals. For example, one school superintendent—under pressure to
meet metric goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act—developed a scheme
to keep low-performing students out of classrooms. By removing these stu-
dents from the classroom, the schools achieved the target thresholds and
received the funding and bonuses the school administrators craved. 2 You get
what you measure.
And then there is the example of a former VP for marketing for an airline com-
pany as she was traveling on her own airline. While rushing to catch her flight,
she arrived late to the gate and found the employees were intent on closing
the door to the airplane 10 minutes in advance of the flight. At this particular
airline, success is measured by the percentage of flights that push-back from
the gate before the scheduled time. The employees, her own colleagues, were
perfectly willing to slam the door in her face to meet their success targets.