The Observer Effect

It turns out people aren’t so different … (kinda obvious really when you think about it, as we’re all made of the same stuff)

Once people know they’re being watched, once they know what’s being measured, they start to adapt. Sometimes consciously, often instinctively. We optimise for the metric, game the system, and take the shortest path to the reward; not necessarily the most meaningful one.

This is the trap at the heart of so many transformation programmes, performance frameworks, and cultural initiatives.

We start with a good intention, track the thing, improve the thing. But over time, the measure becomes the target. And when that happens, the target becomes less meaningful.

Goodhart’s Law says it plainly:

“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure”

We see it everywhere.

Customer service reps optimising for call times, not customer outcomes.
Leaders holding more 1:1s to meet quotas, not to build trust.
Teams prioritising visible activity over deep work because productivity is being tracked.

The behaviour you’re observing isn’t always the behaviour you wanted. It’s just the most efficient path to the goal you made visible.

So much of what gets measured is easy to quantify but hard to interpret. We track it because we can, but in the process we risk driving the wrong behaviours and missing the point entirely.

This doesn’t mean you should stop measuring, but it does mean being far more thoughtful about how observation shapes action.

So next time you’re designing a KPI, a dashboard, or a system for accountability, don’t just ask “What should we track?”

Ask instead: “What will people do once they know this is being tracked?” And, perhaps most importantly, is this actually the behaviour what we want?

Because once the beam of observation is switched on, the game changes.

So measure wisely and always stay curious about what your metrics might be hiding, because not everything that matters lives on a dashboard.

If you’re navigating a culture shift and want to make sure your metrics drive meaning, not just motion then let’s talk about how we can help.