5 Lessons on KPIs: The most dangerous KPI is the one you think explains everything

Every AFL weekend (or any other sport for that matter), Champion Data records thousands

of events, kicks, handballs, tackles, intercepts, score assists, clearances, pressure acts and

dozens of other statistics. These numbers help coaches, commentators and clubs

understand what happened during a game.

But ask any AFL coach, and they will tell you that Champion Data does not identify who

played the best game. It tells them where to look. A midfielder may collect 35 disposals yet

have little influence on the contest. Another player may finish with only 10 possessions but

completely change the game through leadership, positioning and defensive pressure.

The statistics are accurate, but they are only indicators of performance, they are not performance itself.

The same principle applies in organisations. Managers often treat KPIs as definitive

measures of success when they are no different to AFL statistics: useful evidence that requires context and interpretation.

Lesson 1: Numbers describe the system, they are not the system

Champion Data records what occurred during the match, but it cannot fully explain why it

happened. Winning the clearance count or recording more inside 50s does not guarantee

victory.

Likewise, organisations measure revenue, productivity, utilisation, customer satisfaction and

project delivery. These metrics describe aspects of organisational performance, but they do

not explain the interactions, decisions and conditions that produced them.

Good managers understand that KPIs should initiate investigation, not end it.

Lesson 2: Context gives statistics meaning

An AFL team with a high tackle count may have applied outstanding pressure, or it may

simply have spent most of the game without the ball. The statistic only becomes meaningful

when interpreted alongside possession, field position, game plan and opposition tactics.

The same applies to business. High staff utilisation may appear efficient, but it could also

indicate excessive workload, reduced innovation and increasing burnout. A project delivered

under budget may represent efficiency, or critical capability that was never developed.

Context transforms data into insight.

Lesson 3: Activity is not value

Champion Data measures actions, but coaches ultimately care about influence. 35 disposals are less valuable than the 12 that create scoring opportunities or prevent

opposition goals.

Organisations make the same mistake when they reward activity rather than outcomes.

More reports, more meetings or more tasks completed do not necessarily create greater

value for customers or the organisation.

The objective is not to maximise activity; it is to maximise meaningful outcomes.

Lesson 4: Single metrics encourage the wrong behaviours

No AFL coach selects a player solely because they accumulate disposals. Statistics are

interpreted alongside role, team strategy and contribution to the game plan.

In organisations, however, KPIs often become targets rather than indicators. Employees

naturally optimise whatever is measured, closing tickets quickly instead of solving deeper

problems, meeting deadlines at the expense of quality, and my favourite…cutting costs while

increasing future risk.

When people optimise the metric rather than the system, performance appears to improve

while organisational capability declines and risk increases.

Lesson 5: Great performance emerges from relationships

Football is a complex system. Goals result from pressure, positioning, teamwork,

communication and decision-making long before the player kicks the ball.

Organisations operate in exactly the same way. Performance emerges from relationships

between people, information, leadership, culture and capability. Many of the most valuable

contributions, trust, collaboration, judgement and learning are difficult to measure directly.

Champion Data helps coaches understand these interactions, but it never replaces coaching

judgement.

Neither should organisational KPIs replace leadership judgement.

The Leadership Lesson

Champion Data has become invaluable because it provides evidence that supports better

questions rather than definitive answers. The statistics are powerful precisely because

experienced coaches understand their limitations. Organisations should treat KPIs in the same way...but alas, many organisations do not.

A KPI is not a verdict on performance, it is a signal that invites further inquiry. Effective leaders

combine quantitative measures with context, professional judgement and an understanding

of how the wider system behaves.

The best decisions are rarely made by asking, "What does the KPI say?"

They are made by asking, "What is the KPI telling us about how the system is

performing?"

Just remember, "...the most dangerous KPI is the one you think explains everything."