Measure Backwards, Lead Forward

Strong leaders don’t live in the past. But the best ones do visit.

Not to rehash everything, but to notice the signals that matter, and name them. The past is full of noise. But hidden in it are patterns and levers, the quiet, repeatable things that shaped progress. The 20% that gives us something useful to lead with.

The other 80%? That’s forward-facing, what we protect, build, change, and decide, and it’s lighter when we’re clear on what matters most. Clarity lifts the load, reduces mental clutter, and transforms how teams perform.

This isn’t just about strategy decks or vision statements, it’s about attention. It’s a leadership discipline I often write about in Amplify.

A few weeks ago, we were deep into a family trip across the UK. On the way to the airport, tight on time, packed car, flight deadline looming, and a smooth-running Volvo hybrid rental that never breaks down... did exactly that.

No warning light. No slow fade. Just dead. On the side of the road in a tiny village, my brain went straight into problem-solving mode: Rental company. Replacement car. Timelines. Repair options. Plan B, C, D.

Meanwhile, my kids did something else entirely. They wandered into the nearest open door, a small antique shop. Told the story to the woman behind the counter. She didn’t panic. She mapped a solution.

Looked up train times. Sketched out how to run to the station. Told us which connections would get us to the airport on time, and offered to hold the car keys and deal with the repair service herself.

Within 15 minutes, we had a way forward, thanks to a calm local, and a team around me that noticed instead of rushed!

I was managing narrow, they were noticing wide. And that was another lesson. In leadership, we do this often, solving, fixing, racing ahead. But we often miss what’s already working. The patterns already present. The quiet support that already exists in the system.

It’s rarely the loudest thing. Sometimes what looks like a problem is just a spike, it won’t repeat. Other times, the real leverage is something small, consistent, and unnoticed. That’s why we measure backwards, not constantly, but deliberately. Not to be exhaustive. Just to find enough truth to inform the future.

Then we lead forward, with clarity:

• What matters most that got us here?

• What decisions matter most to get us there?

  
  

This is how strong teams stop guessing. It’s how high performers stay grounded. And it’s how leaders know what matters, so they can build momentum that lasts.