Balancing Quantitative and Qualitative Objectives in Leadership

A primary part of a leader’s role is to support the team in reaching objectives. This involves keeping the team aligned on what the objectives are, ensuring the team has the resources to execute the work, and keeping the work engaging so the team develops and remains enthusiastic. So much of our work in organizations is driven by quantitative, number-based, objectives. I have worked with leaders and teams where the only objectives passed down are numbers-based, such as “reach $100k in sales per month by February” or “open 4 new stores this year”. I have found that having a balance of both quantitative and qualitative objectives is key for keeping the team aligned, engaged, and enthusiastic about the work to be done. In this post, I’ll detail the key differences between quantitative and qualitative objectives, provide insight on how to make your quantitative objectives impactful, and provide some ways to begin finding balance and new energy on your team.

What are Quantitative Objectives?

As I mentioned in the introduction, many leaders and upper management teams set number-based targets for the organization as the vision for the coming period of business. Quantitative objectives are number-based objectives. Quantitative objectives are useful for a few reasons. They are, at first glance…