Performance Metrics Flashcards

A coach notices a client's team hits its call-volume target every week, but customer satisfaction keeps falling. What is the most likely metric design problem?

Answer: The metric rewards activity rather than the outcome that matters

Activity metrics like call volume can be gamed or hit while the outcome they were meant to drive gets worse.

Which statement best describes Goodhart's Law in a performance coaching context?

Answer: When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure

Goodhart's Law warns that people optimize for the target number itself, which distorts what it was meant to show.

A manager wants a metric that predicts next quarter's sales before results come in. Which is the best leading indicator?

Answer: Number of qualified pipeline opportunities created this month

Qualified pipeline activity comes before closed sales and can predict them, so it is a leading indicator.

In a coaching engagement, what is the main purpose of setting a baseline measurement?

Answer: To create a reference point for judging change over the engagement

A baseline shows where performance started, so progress can be measured fairly afterward.

A client's goal is 'be a better communicator.' Which revision makes it most measurable?

Answer: Raise my 360-feedback communication score from 3.1 to 3.8 within six months

It names a specific measure, a target, and a deadline, so it fits SMART criteria.

Which metric is most clearly a lagging indicator of employee engagement?

Answer: Voluntary turnover rate over the past year

Turnover shows up only after disengagement has already happened, which makes it a lagging measure.

A coach advises keeping a scorecard to a small set of key metrics. What is the main reason?

Answer: Fewer metrics keep attention on what matters most and avoid diluting priorities

Too many metrics split attention and make it unclear which priorities really drive performance.