Beyond KPIs: The Quiet Signs of a Healthy Team

A few weeks ago, I shared a story about my teenage daughter leaving money out in the open—a relatively insignificant behavior, but one that carried a subtle message. It was a sign that she felt safe at her school, but also a nudge to me as a parent to reinforce some lessons about personal security and awareness.

My daughter’s willingness to leave her money out was, to me, one of those messages that we often overlook — the ones hidden in plain sight. Sometimes, behaviors we observe aren’t just quirks or habits—they're indicators. Indicators that someone needs guidance. Indicators that things are off track. But just as often, they’re indicators that things are going right—even if they don’t show up in a dashboard or a KPI report.

Earlier this week, I saw another small but powerful signal from another one of my kids. This video is my middle son doing pushups after his wrestling practice. When I asked why he was doing push-ups when everyone else was already done, he simply said:

“The coach said do 50 pushups, and I hadn’t done all 50—so I did what I owed.”

Some of the clearest signs of success don’t come from data—they come from behavior.

Proud dad moment? Definitely. My wife and I stay on top of him about submitting his assignments on time, taking less liberties with the clothing “smell test”, and seeing a large bag of popcorn as 10 snack servings, not a single meal. But, in this moment, I was offered a quiet, unscripted confirmation that our messages about integrity and accountability are taking root. 

It also reminded me of the importance of how leaders assess their organization’s health: some of the clearest signs of success don’t come from data—they come from behavior.

As leaders, we’re trained to look at numbers. Revenue growth. Attrition rates. Customer satisfaction scores. Those are important—but they aren’t the whole picture.

Many times the health of your organization is reflected as much in the things that don’t get tracked:

* A spontaneous happy hour organized by the team.

* Cross-department conversations that happen without being scheduled.

* Laughter, easy collaboration and authentic camaraderie in meetings.

* Anticipation for the company picnic—not just because of the free food, but because people actually want to be there.

Those are signals worth noticing.

Leadership isn’t just about reacting to what the data says. It’s about seeing what the data doesn’t show you—and appreciating the subtle indicators that you’re doing something right.