There’s a conversation that keeps coming up in our training sessions, different delegates, different industries, same theme.

 

We’re talking about performance, or priorities, or planning… and someone says:

 

“I know what I should be doing… I just don’t really track it.”

 

Someone else chips in:

 

“I just go with my gut most of the time.” and then, usually with a bit of a smile, “I avoid spreadsheets if I can.”

 

More recently, it’s evolved slightly, “We’ve got Power BI… I just don’t really look at it.”

 

What’s important here is who is saying it.

It’s not disengaged managers.

It’s not underperformers.

 

It’s usually the people who are:

• great with their teams
• strong communicators
• well-liked
• doing a lot right already

 

Which is why it’s interesting because everything we teach (and believe in) around leadership still stands.

 

✔ Yes to growth mindset and emotional intelligence.

✔ Yes to communication and adaptability.

✔ Yes to coaching and motivation skills.

✔ Yes to understanding people.

 

Because you can literally see the shift in the room when someone starts to listen properly, adapt their style, handle a conversation differently because that stuff matters. It’s key But alongside it… is there a subtle gap starting to show?

 

Perhaps it shows up with questions like:

“What does good performance actually look like here?”

“How are you tracking it?”

“What’s changed over the last few months?”

 

That’s where things can get a bit more vague. Not because people don’t care, just because they haven’t got clear visibility.

This is where tools like Excel or Power BI can be a gamechanger. Not as ‘technical skills’, but as practical, leadership enhancements.

 

Because once you can see what’s happening then the patterns become obvious which allows conversations to become easier and decisions feel less like guesswork. These all support confident leadership communication.

 

We had a group recently where someone said:

“I’ve been putting off a performance conversation for weeks.”

When we dug into it, the reason this performance management conversation was being delayed was because they didn’t actually have anything concrete to point to backing up their decisions, just a general sense that something wasn’t right.

 

Contrast that with:

“Here’s what we agreed, and here’s what’s been happening over the last 6 weeks.” Well that’s a completely different conversation!

Same person, same situation but with more clarity which ultimately means more confidence.

You see the same thing with time management.

 

We go through the theory on our Forefront course, Stephen Covey, priorities, urgent vs important… all of it makes sense to the delegates. Then you ask, “What does your team’s workload actually look like right now?” and that’s where it gets tricky.

 

Because without something visible:

• everything feels urgent
• capacity is hard to judge
• people end up reacting instead of choosing

 

Sometimes all it takes is a simple spreadsheet or a dashboard that’s already there… (but probably just not being used!)

 

And this is where all of this links really nicely to Insights Discovery.

 

Because if we’re honest, this often isn’t about skill, it’s about preference.

 

Some people naturally lean towards people, conversation, relationships and others towards structure, logic and detail.

 

Most of us have a clear comfort zone and whether we want to admit it, most of us stay in it! (and I’m not afraid to admit it, my Insights Discovery accommodating type of Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Fiery Red will often overlook the Cool Blue side of my decisions  if I don’t use the right tools to support me!).

 

So the real question becomes:

Are we developing leaders across the full picture… or just reinforcing what they already find comfortable?

 

Because leadership today isn’t just being good with people it’s also:

• being clear on performance
• understanding what’s actually happening
• and being confident enough to engage with it

 

The interesting bit is once people lean into this, even slightly, the shift is quick. You see it in programmes like Finance for Non-Financial Managers. It’s not that people suddenly become experts.

It’s that they stop avoiding it.

 

And that alone changes how they show up with senior stakeholders, in making decisions and creating change.

 

So this isn’t about turning managers into analysts, it’s about balance.

 

Because the strongest leaders we see aren’t just great with people but they are also the ones who can say:

 

“Let’s just have a look at what’s actually going on.”

 

And then… actually look!

 

From there, everyone will feel more supported and we can develop high-performing teams.