Written by: David Carneal – Digital Efficiency Consulting Group – DECG
Read Time: 2 min
Red is not a crisis. Red is information. The danger is what leaders do with that information.
If red equals punishment, people hide bad news. Dashboards stay green until reality shows up uninvited. The fix is not "better dashboards." It is better leadership behavior during KPI reviews.
What good KPI leadership looks like
Start with curiosity, not court proceedings.
Replace "Who did this?" with:
– "What changed in the system?"
– "Is this a trend or noise?"
– "What evidence would change our minds?"
Separate accountability from blame
Accountability is making sure the right work gets done. Blame is making sure someone feels bad. Only one of those improves performance.
Run KPI meetings like decision meetings
A simple structure:
– Confirm: definitions and data are trusted
– Classify: weather, traffic jam, broken proof, or market shift
– Decide: one experiment or fix, one owner, one date to review results
Reward early warnings
When someone surfaces a red metric early, treat it like a win. They saved you time. They gave you options. Make that behavior safe.
The culture signal you send
Every KPI review teaches the organization what "truth" costs. If truth costs humiliation, you will buy silence. If truth earns respect, you will get the information you need to lead.
CTA: In your next KPI review, replace ‘Who caused this?’ with ‘What changed in the system?’ and watch what happens to the honesty level in the room.