There are no metrics that accurately measure the intangibles

A few years ago, I was watching a baseball game in which a particular pitcher was having a great night on the mound. This game was important, as the outcome would determine if his team would survive to play one final game where the winner would be crowned champion. Needless to say, emotions were high and the pressure was on.

More than halfway through the game, this pitcher had been all but untouchable. Facing a perennial powerhouse with a ton of talent, he kept them off-guard and didn’t make many mistakes. He was the catalyst that night and his team was in the lead and playing great baseball.

I had no real interest in who won or lost but this game was exciting. You could almost feel the electricity of the moment coming through the TV as this pitcher seemed to have an aura of invincibility surrounding him.

When the head coach pulled him out of the game after giving up a base hit, I thought to myself, “why would he do that?” I couldn’t understand the rationale, which some speculated was tied to baseball analytics. There was just something about that guy on that night which seemed special. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one confused because social media went nuts. When that move backfired and his team lost, it got even worse.

I’m not judging the coach’s decision. Hindsight is always 20/20 and he went with what he thought was best. He has been described as a coach who relies upon data and analytics and through that particular season that methodology had served him, and his team, well. But in that moment, I couldn’t help but think that numbers NEVER tell the whole story.

There are no metrics that accurately measure the intangibles.

As I’ve reflected over the last few years on this single decision in a single ballgame, I’m reminded that effective leadership is an art. Data and analytics point to past events and performance and can’t predict the future. Whether amassed and analyzed by humans or AI, they simply tell us what happened before and help us make more educated guesses as to the probability of something occurring in the future.

But they can’t quantify an individual’s or team’s grit or persistence or inner drive or the limitless synergy of a great team full of people who believe in and would do anything for one another. Only other humans can sense those things. Even then, it’s not exact, but you know it when you feel it and it’s real. Call it intuition, gut feeling, or “I just know”, it’s a special skill based on hours upon hours of interaction and observation and communication.

I wonder just how often leaders and teams make decisions based on the numbers without ever considering the significant, weighty intangibles that span the breadth and depth of our organizations and the people we lead. It’s worth a thought.