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Mastering Performance Tracking for Smarter Teams · The Science of Leading

• 0:00
  Hey everyone-welcome back to The Science of Leading.
• 0:02
  I'm Claire Monroe, and I'm here,
• 0:04
  as always, with the one and only Edwin Carrington.
• 0:07
  Edwin, how're you feeling today?
• 0:07
  Hi Claire.
• 0:10
  Doing well, thanks.
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  Always glad to be here-especially when we're diving into something this
• 0:15
  foundational.
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  Yeah, today's topic is...
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  I mean, honestly, kinda underrated: performance tracking.
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  Like, how actually keeping up with what your team's doing can totally
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  change how managers lead-and how people work.
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  But Edwin,
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  let's be real...
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  most people still think "performance" means that one awkward annual review.
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  You know, the conversation you dread,
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  sit through, and then don't think about again for 364 days.
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  That's exactly
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  it.
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  Back when I started, the annual review was treated like a final exam.
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  One shot.
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  No retakes.
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  I remember all the times a problem had been quietly simmering for months-no
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  one said anything until the review-and by then,
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  it was already a missed opportunity.
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  Coaching, course correction, even praise...
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  all delayed.
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  Or lost.
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  So what actually changes when performance gets tracked more regularly-not
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  just once a year?
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  It's a total mindset shift.
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  Tracking consistently turns "I think" into "I know." You're not relying
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  on memory or gut feel-you've got real signals.
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  That means fewer blind spots for managers,
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  and more clarity for employees.
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  People know where they stand-and how to course-correct before things
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  spiral.
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  Right?
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  And that's been a theme across so many episodes.
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  Like...
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  transparency, aligned goals, making feedback normal instead of this,
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  like, random ambush.
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  Exactly.
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  If you build tracking into your rhythm-weekly,
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  biweekly, whatever-you deal with issues early.
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  You start spotting patterns instead of reacting to one-offs.
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  That's what makes coaching effective.
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  You're not just waiting for something to break-you're actively shaping
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  performance.
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  And I like that it's not about spying or breathing down people's
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  necks.
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  It's more like...
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  making the work visible so you can actually support it.
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  Like, the manager gets to be more of a guide-not just the person who
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  hands out grades at the end.
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  Right.
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  The best tracking systems are shared systems.
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  Everyone knows what's being tracked,
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  why it matters, and how often it's reviewed.
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  That mutual visibility changes everything.
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  Suddenly, you're not rewarding the loudest person in the room-you're
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  noticing who consistently delivers.
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  Quiet excellence doesn't get overlooked.
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  And you catch stuff early.
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  Like, way before it becomes a whole mess.
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  Exactly.
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  The goal isn't to catch mistakes-it's to enable growth.
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  When someone sees where they're doing well,
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  where they can level up, and how their work connects to the bigger picture...
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  you get better performance and stronger retention.
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  Okay,
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  so if tracking is this powerful...
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  how do you actually do it well?
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  Because Edwin, every company has dashboards on dashboards-so many metrics.
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  But not all of them are helpful,
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  right?
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  That's true.
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  More data doesn't mean better insight.
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  In fact, measuring too much just creates noise.
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  What works is a tight set of KPIs-key performance indicators-that are
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  actually relevant to the role and tied to team goals.
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  So if I'm a manager
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  building a simple system-what kinds of KPIs should I focus on?
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  Most roles
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  map back to four basic buckets: output,
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  quality, timeliness, and reliability.
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  Output is how much work gets done-like
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  support tickets closed.
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  Quality might be customer satisfaction or defect
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  rates.
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  Timeliness is about meeting deadlines.
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  Reliability's often overlooked-but
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  it's whether someone shows up consistently,
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  not just when they feel inspired.
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  But okay-what about those metrics that
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  sound legit, but kind of...
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  aren't?
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  Like tracking 'hours online' or 'messages sent'?Those are classic vanity
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  metrics.
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  They create the illusion of productivity without real value.
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  I've seen teams track "hours active," only to end up with people keeping
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  Slack open just to look busy.
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  Once we switched to tracking actual outcomes-like resolved cases-everything
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  changed.
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  If a metric doesn't help you coach better or make a decision,
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  get rid of it.
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  And then there's that thing with leading and lagging indicators.
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  That always trips people up.
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  Like-what's happening now versus what already happened,
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  right?
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  Exactly.
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  Lagging indicators show past results-sales closed,
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  projects finished.
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  Leading indicators are the signals that predict where things are heading-like
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  response time trends or progress toward milestones.
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  You need both.
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  One keeps you honest, the other keeps you proactive.
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  And it's not just
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  individuals, right?
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  Some work is shared-so if you only track individuals,
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  people might start gaming the system.
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  That's a real risk.
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  For shared work, team KPIs matter.
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  Use individual metrics to support development-but protect them.
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  Keep personal data private unless there's a real coaching need.
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  And make team metrics public, so collaboration is encouraged-not
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  competition.
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  And
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  all of this...
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  it only works if the goals make sense in the first place.
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  Like, if the targets are fuzzy,
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  the metrics are just noise.
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  That's one of the biggest gaps I see.
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  Metrics only matter if you've defined what success looks like.
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  You need clarity on outcomes, timelines,
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  context.
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  Otherwise, you're just measuring activity-not progress.
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  So,
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  bottom line: less is more.
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  Focused metrics, clear goals, skip the corporate theater.
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  Just show people what actually matters.
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  Okay,
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  let's talk setup.
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  Because when I became a first-time manager,
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  I got way too ambitious.
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  I built this elaborate tracker-color-coded,
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  formulas everywhere...
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  and my team hated it.
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  It took more time to fill out than to do the actual work.
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  That's a rite
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  of passage, Claire.
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  Overbuilding the system is incredibly common.
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  But great performance tracking should be boring.
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  It's consistent.
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  It's light.
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  It's reliable.
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  Think: simple check-ins, regular snapshots,
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  clear ownership.
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  If it requires a spreadsheet genius to manage-it's too much.
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  So what cadence
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  actually works?
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  Like...
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  weekly?
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  Monthly?
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  Usually a mix.
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  Biweekly one-on-ones for coaching.
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  Monthly KPI snapshots for visibility.
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  Quarterly reviews for reflection.
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  The magic happens in the one-on-ones-because that's where tracking
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  turns
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  into action: Are we on track?
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  Where are you stuck?
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  What's changing?
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  And tools?
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  There are so many out there.
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  Are they essential?
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  Tools can help-but they don't fix bad management habits.
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  The best tools make it easier to track progress,
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  capture notes, and spot trends.
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  But you still need managers who know how to listen,
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  coach, and use context.
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  No app can do that part for you.
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  Yeah...
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  I learned that the hard way.
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  Ours had dropdowns for everything.
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  We got less useful info because people just clicked random stuff to get
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  it over with.
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  So-keep it simple?
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  Exactly.
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  Use what's already in place.
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  Keep it lightweight.
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  Track what actually gets discussed.
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  And above all, use the data to start conversations-not replace them.
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  I
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  love that.
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  Tracking isn't the point-it's the thing that makes better conversations
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  possible.
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  And if it ever starts to feel like micromanaging,
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  or busywork...
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  that's a red flag.
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  Well said.
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  A good system brings clarity, not surveillance.
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  Train your managers well.
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  Design for real life.
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  And track only what helps people grow.
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  That's how you improve performance-without losing trust or
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  momentum.
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  Okay
• 7:38
  Edwin, as always, this was super helpful.
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  I feel like I'm gonna go rethink every tracker I've ever built.
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  And for everyone listening-thank you for joining us on The Science of
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  Leading.
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  If this sparked ideas for your team,
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  and you're wondering how to actually apply some of these principles-you
• 7:52
  can test OAD's tools for free at o-a-d-dot-a-i.
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  The behavioral assessments are a super simple way to improve hiring and
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  track real performance, not just gut feeling.
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  It's one of the easiest ways
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  to reduce bias and raise the bar-especially when you're scaling fast.
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  All
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  right-we're out of time for today.
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  Edwin, I'll see you next episode?
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  Absolutely.
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  Keep it focused.
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  Keep it human.
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  See you then.
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  Take care, everyone.
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  This was The Science of Leading.