Lead Measures Like a Boss. The Small Shifts That Drive Big Results
Most of us want to do better work. We want to grow the team, lift results, feel that sense of progress. But often, we aren’t clear on what to do next. Research by Gallup found that 50% of those surveyed are unclear about what they are supposed to do at work.
In The 4 Disciplines of Execution, they call this the missing link between intent and action. We set the goal, we name the outcome, but we don’t define the behaviour that gets us there.
When clarity is missing, motivation fades.
When clarity appears, motivation returns. Motivation leads to action. And action builds momentum.
That’s the quiet magic of lead measures.
The Difference Between What You Want and What You Do
Lag measures are the score at the end of the game. Sales results, survey scores, project completion. Lead measures are the plays that move the ball down the field.
You can’t directly control a lag measure. You can control a lead measure. It’s the difference between “We want more fruit” and “We’ll water the garden every morning.” If you focus only on the harvest, you’ll stare at empty soil and hope. If you focus on the watering, the soil will quietly take care of the rest.
When the Small Shift Changes Everything
The book gives some simple but powerful examples.
A surgical team changed their lead measure from “Audit the surgical tray before every surgery” to “Audit the surgical tray and verbally confirm every procedure.” That single addition - the spoken check - cut perioperative accidents by 17%.
A hotel front desk team shifted from “Warmly welcome every guest” to “Make eye contact, smile, and welcome every guest within seven feet of the front desk.” Their guest-arrival satisfaction scores jumped 38%.
A stocking team moved from “Restock all shelves by 8 a.m.” to “Every associate will walk every aisle twice per day and fill all empty shelf spaces.” Out-of-stocks dropped, and sales lifted.
Each one found the same truth when you name the behaviour clearly enough, people can own it.
How to Create a Lead Measure
Start with what matters most.
List your top three priorities. What outcomes really matter to your team right now?
Pick one/the most important lag measure. What does success look like at the end?
List every possible action that could influence that outcome.
Rank them by impact and by what you can directly control. The one that sits high on both lists. That’s your lead measure.
Then make it SMARTER (see my earlier post From Boss to SMARTER: The Goal Setting Upgrade That Works).
Or ask AI for help. Here’s the prompt:
I want to create a lead measure - an action or habit I can control that predicts my result. Take this statement and turn it into one SMARTER goal using the checklist from this blog post: https://www.jasonbiggs.nz/blog/from-boss-to-smarter-the-goal-setting-upgrade-that-works. Write it in heartfelt, human language that a 10-year-old could understand, in 1–2 short sentences.
When Lead Measures Become Culture
One client I’ve worked with trained every staff member to write their own lead measure. It’s built into progress reviews. They track them at team level, discuss them in leadership meetings, reporting them all the way up. What started as a task became a rhythm. A rhythm that tells them what’s working, what’s stuck, and where to clear the road.
From Clarity to Momentum
Lead measures are the small hinges that swing big doors. They turn vague hope into visible progress. They remind people that outcomes don’t happen by chance, they happen because of daily, deliberate action. Because clarity creates motivation. Motivation creates action. And that’s how momentum begins.