Can’t Measure That? Think Again.

We measure what matters.
But what if what really matters feels grey or hard to measure?

Things like how well your team collaborates, if people feel safe to speak up, how willingly your team embrace change or how connected they feel to you as a leader or each other?  

These are the things that drive team culture, help you keep your best people, drive safety, and performance.
But because they’re “soft” or “grey,” they’re often ignored, we assume we know the answer based on our own experience, or we are guessing.

And yet, these are often the things I hear about in leadership programs.  

“The team doesn’t talk across shifts.”
“People go quiet when we ask for feedback.”

“Theres no collaboration across departments” 

Sound familiar?

They normally come to light because the hard metrics we are currently measuring are driving a set of unintended behaviours.  Ones that mean we get the job done, but don’t always drive the culture we are trying to create or align with our values.  So how do you create metrics that drive culture and turn these seemingly grey areas into something visible, tangible, and trackable?

What does good look like?

Before you measure anything, you need a shared understanding of what you're aiming for.  Asking questions like “What does great collaboration look like?” or  “What kind of behaviours show that we’ve got each other’s backs?”

Capture their words.  Get specific.

“Sharing updates proactively”
“Asking for help before it’s too late”
“Backing each other up when something slips”

Now you’ve shifted from buzzwords to behaviours.

Now to take those behaviours and create your indicators.  Don’t over think this step.  What you need is behaviours that are observable, that you can tracka dn talk about over time.  You can even associate a feeling with the behaviour.  Less frustration from fixing small errors is something people can tune into and will know if it has dialled up or decreased.

Here are some ways you can bring people centred behaviours into focus, but I highly recommend you and your team come up with your own:

Collaboration

• Number of shared planning sessions, or departments contributing
• % of team members speaking up in toolbox talks or safety shares
• Peer shout-outs or recognition given across roles or shifts

Psychological Safety & Engagement

• “Speak Up” pulse survey  “In the past 2 weeks, have you raised a concern or asked a challenging question? Or actively held back?”
• How many ideas are shared in improvement sessions (not just implemented)

Embracing Change

• Self-rated confidence scores (pre/post new tech rollout)
• Number of team-generated suggestions for improving new systems
• Observation: Are people using the new tool in live settings (e.g. referencing it in meetings)?

None of this will get traction if you are not talking about it.

The power in human-centric metrics isn’t in the numbers, it’s in the feelings they create and the conversations they start.

Speak directly to them at every opportunity.

“What’s helping collaboration right now? What’s holding it back?”

By naming these behaviours and tracking small shifts, you signal that how people show up matters, not just what they produce.

And when we as leaders start talking about these things consistently, we stop being ‘grey’, and they start becoming part of the culture, shifting into black and white.

You can’t capture everything in a spreadsheet.  But if collaboration, trust, or change readiness are key ingredients to your team’s success, you need a way to see and support it.

Create space to define the behaviours.
Find simple, visible ways to track progress.
And keep the focus on growth, not grading.

Because what gets noticed gets nurtured.
And what gets nurtured becomes the culture.