Stop Worshiping Leading Indicators

Build patiently toward outcomes that actually change lives.

I like dashboards. They matter. But leaders who serve dashboards betray the outcomes they claim to want.

Leading indicators move fast and flatter egos. Lagging indicators move slowly and change lives: trust, transformation, durable value, communities that work when no one is watching.

Schools rarely resist optimizing for brand and optics—test spikes, Ivy admissions, hype—and often recruit gifted kids and hope they still look gifted later. I rarely believe their lagging indicators tell a meaningful story of growth.

This week with Travis Oliphant, I was reminded: wise leadership requires restraint. Restraint from over‑optimizing to boost the metric that twitched this morning. Instead, build conditions that make the right outcomes—lagging indicators that reveal real impact—inevitable.

It takes courage to let time work and humility to accept that what matters can’t be rushed.

If you’re tired of running faster for less, try this:

• Pick one meaningful lagging indicator.
• Name three upstream behaviors that predict it.
• Commit for 90 days.
• Review weekly without drama. Adjust the work, not the goal.

Your team won’t remember last week’s spike. They will remember the peace and progress you protected—and the results will too.