Focus on Lead Measures

Visual management is the process used by organizations to cascade goals and important information/ communication to help align efforts and make it easy to see when a problem exists.

Lead measures are the activities or behaviors that are directly linked to achieving a desired outcome. They are the things that teams can control and influence to achieve their goals.

Lead Measures are Predictive

A change in the lead measures predicts a change in the outcome measure.

Lead Measures are Controllable

Lead measures are highly sensitive to targeted actions and process changes that can be controlled by the team.

Lead Measures are Easily Measured

Lead measures make it easy for teams to quantify the impact of their improvement efforts quickly.

An effective visual management system can help teams keep track of their progress toward their goal while staying focused on their lead measures. This system, which includes visual displays of how lead measures are trending over time, using tools such as charts or graphs, will help the team quickly identify if they are winning or losing on a daily basis.

Through this ever-evolving evaluation of daily performance, the team can introduce changes, review results, and quickly learn what works and doesn’t work when trying to improve the processes that drive their department goals. This routine, which includes daily check-ins, progress tracking, and regular reviews of current performance to identify areas for improvement, is at the foundation of what makes Daily Improvement work.