The more KPIs, the less important each KPI becomes

Leadership is about managing complexity. Reality consists of many moving parts: people, strategy, technology, finance and culture. Everything is interconnected, often in demanding ways.

A leader must first understand this whole. See connections, dependencies and contradictions. Understand why something is difficult before trying to solve it.

But leadership is not about staying in the complexity.

I learned this clearly when we where a part of Europower. My manager at the time was crystal clear: The more KPIs, the less important each KPI becomes.

The point was simple – and profound. When everything is important, nothing is important. Too many KPIs create noise, not direction. People spend energy reporting, explaining and balancing, instead of delivering.

Good leadership is therefore about intentionally simplifying. Choosing a few, clear goals. Saying no to what doesn’t matter most. Giving the organization clarity on what actually counts.

Leadership is this: Taking in complexity fully – and passing on simplicity that makes action possible.