Leaders Don’t Need More Data, They Need Decisions

Leaders love data. 

Dashboards. Metrics. Reports. Engagement surveys. KPIs. It creates the feeling of clarity, the feeling of control, the feeling that more information will make the path forward obvious.

I used to believe that too.

That belief is what led me into a four-year experiment where I tracked every single minute of my life. 35,064 hours logged across 25 categories. If data could create clarity, I figured I’d have more than most people ever will.

I expected all that data to clarify my decisions. Instead, it taught me that information doesn’t create movement. Decisions do.

The more data I collected, the more I delayed acting on what I already knew. I convinced myself that if I just tracked a little longer, or analyzed the patterns a little more, the “right” next step would emerge. It didn’t. I was documenting my life instead of changing it.

Inside organizations, I see the same dynamic all the time.

Teams look overwhelmed, but leaders ask for more reporting instead of simplifying priorities.  Performance stalls, but managers wait for “better data” instead of clarifying expectations. Alignment slips, but no one steps in to define the decision that needs to be made.

It’s rarely a capability problem or a commitment problem. It’s a clarity problem disguised as an information problem.

Leaders don’t need more dashboards. They need the courage to act on the information they already have.

So as you start your new year, try shifting the question. Instead of “What data are we missing?” ask:
What decision have I been postponing?
What expectation needs to be simplified?
What priority needs to become the actual priority?

The data can inform your team. But only your leadership can move them forward.