How To Measure Leadership Impact On Teams

Most VP-level dashboards tell you how your team is performing. Very few tell you how your managers are performing. That is a ginormous miss. Frontline managers are your leverage layer. They’re not just delivering the number. They’re shaping how it gets delivered AND whether next quarter’s number gets easier or harder. So if all you’re tracking is team quota, you’re measuring a lagging outcome, not the manager’s actual impact. Here’s how to build a manager scorecard that drives compounding: 1. Rep progression velocity. If their best rep is their top rep every quarter, something’s wrong. Track: - Ramp speed compared to org average - % of reps showing improvement in stage conversions - % of reps promoted out of their team (upward mobility = strong bench) Great managers don’t just hit plan. They level up talent. 2. Coaching system consistency. Every manager “does coaching," but few do it consistently AND with structure. Track: - % of reps receiving 2+ structured coaching sessions per month - % of coaching sessions tied to live deal inspection, not just performance reviews - % of feedback items closed out (did rep apply it, and did outcomes improve?) Your goal isn’t vibes. It’s visible change. 3. Deal quality lift. Pipeline health is a team stat. Pipeline discipline, on the other hand, is a manager stat. Look for: - Cleaner exit criteria adherence by stage - Lower “Hail Mary” forecast swings - Higher % of deals multithreaded before stage 3 If reps are cutting corners, it’s not just a rep issue. It’s a management issue. 4. Strategic contribution You don’t want managers who just update. You want ones who escalate insight. Track: - Frequency of upward feedback: What are they seeing across deals, verticals, objections? - Net-new process suggestions or enablement needs - Involvement in peer training, mentoring, or playbook refinement This is how you separate tactical managers from strategic operators. 5. Team health & retention Attrition without replacement is a performance drag. Attrition without progression is a leadership red flag. Track: - Voluntary attrition rates by team - Internal transfers/promotions from their org - Culture signal: training participation, call reviews submitted, 1:1 feedback pulled (not just pushed) A strong team isn’t quiet. It’s engaged - and improving. tl;dr = if you want to scale as a VP, your #1 job isn’t hitting the number. It’s building managers who can do it without you in the room. The rep dashboard gets you through this quarter. The manager scorecard gets you through the next five.

What’s the best way to measure manager effectiveness? Surveys can’t tell you if a manager skips 1:1s or sends after-hours Slack. And most dashboards stop at engagement scores. So we built a new way to measure the actual habits of effective managers. Here’s what the data shows: 1. Regular coaching. Weekly 1:1s predict higher engagement. Late or skipped meetings lower team trust. Nearly half of employees go 5+ weeks without a 1:1. Insight: Scheduled 1:1s outperform ad hoc check-ins. 2. Reasonable team norms. After-hours messages drive burnout. Most teams receive 15+ late-night Slacks from managers. Managers respond faster after-hours than during the day. Insight: Team boundaries must be modeled, not messaged. 3. Support, not micromanagement. Too much co-attendance erodes trust. Time with a manager helps, but only to a point. 8+ hours together often signals control, not coaching. Insight: Support without space leads to friction, not growth. 4. Ability to unblock. Managers with broader networks get teams unblocked faster. Network health drops when face time goes beyond 180 days. Many ICs lack access to skip-level leaders. Insight: Internal visibility shapes external velocity. 5. Team size matters. Managers with 8+ reports work longer hours. More reports means fewer 1:1s. Survey scores drop as team size grows. Insight: You can’t scale support without shrinking spans. We built the Scorecard to show what engagement surveys can’t. If you had to pick one metric to track manager performance, what would it be?

Behind every high-performing team is a thoughtful 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 focused on what actually drives success—not just what’s easy to count. In my research with teams, I’ve seen many leaders track the 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 things: tallying meetings held, initiatives launched, or tasks completed, without ever asking if those activities are making a meaningful difference. The most 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 use a different scorecard. One that balances three dimensions: 1️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: Are we creating something valuable? Is our work 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵? 2️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Are we getting 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 at working together over time? 3️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Are team members growing in capability, resilience, and confidence? When teams track 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 and 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 alongside 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵, behavior naturally shifts toward deeper collaboration, reflection, and continuous improvement. One leadership team I supported started measuring “𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴” rather than just “𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦.” The result? Better decisions and better implementation. Because what gets 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥, gets 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥. And what we choose to track reveals what we truly 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿?👇 P.S. If you’re a leader, I recommend checking out my free challenge: The Resilient Leader: 28 Days to Thrive in Uncertainty  https://lnkd.in/gxBnKQ8n #Leadership #TeamDevelopment #HighPerformingTeams #MetricsThatMatter #ContinuousImprovement