#subsidiaryalignment

By Alban Ago

In a company like LELEADER GROUP, headquartered in Benin, no two days—or subsidiaries—are ever quite the same. One team might be managing the construction of an industrial park in Allada. Another is overseeing consumer goods distribution in Kinshasa. Meanwhile, someone else is balancing customs paperwork in Namibia.

It’s complex. Sometimes beautifully so, sometimes exhaustingly so.

And yet, as a leadership team, we need a single picture of how the company is performing. Not just profit and loss. But execution, growth, compliance, efficiency. All of it.

So how do we monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across such diverse operations, without turning into a bureaucracy or drowning in spreadsheets?

Here’s what’s worked for us—and, frankly, what hasn’t.

Step 1: Know what not to measure

In the early days, we tried to standardize everything. We wanted logistics, real estate, trade, and consumer goods to all report on the same core KPIs. Clean. Comparable. Neat.

It didn’t work.

Our logistics team in Ghana was being evaluated with metrics better suited for a packaging plant. Our Namibian office was spending more time formatting KPI reports than managing vendors.

Eventually, we asked: what actually drives success in each unit?

Now, we give each subsidiary autonomy to define five “mission-critical” KPIs. Logistics tracks delivery timeliness, transport cost per ton, and customs clearance efficiency. Real estate tracks occupancy, build-time variance, and maintenance backlog. Each set of KPIs serves a different story—and that’s okay.

Step 2: Dashboards with nuance

Yes, we use dashboards. No, we don’t obsess over them.

Each business unit updates a shared dashboard weekly. It’s not automated end-to-end. People still enter data manually in some cases. That’s fine. We’ve learned that reliable numbers are better than fast numbers.

But—and this is key—we don’t just look at charts. We require context. Every metric has a comment box. If inventory turnover dips, we want to know why. Was it demand fluctuation? Supply chain delays? Misforecasting?

KPIs without commentary are like traffic signs without a map. You need interpretation.

Step 3: The “two-tier” model

At the group level, we monitor five unifying KPIs across all subsidiaries:

EBITDA margin

Cash conversion cycle

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)

Staff retention

Compliance incident frequency

These allow us to spot red flags, ask questions, and keep an eye on overall health.

But underneath those, each business unit runs its own detailed scorecard—custom to its operations.

This “two-tier” system lets us stay aligned without becoming rigid. It respects the uniqueness of each team, while giving leadership visibility where it matters most.

Step 4: People still matter more than numbers

Once, a logistics KPI flagged that vehicle turnaround time in DRC had worsened. The data suggested inefficiency. But when we investigated, we learned the team had slowed deliveries to avoid late-night routes due to a temporary security concern.

Was the KPI bad? No. But context overruled the chart.

That’s why we pair every data review with a monthly leadership dialogue—part numbers, part narrative.

In Africa, where systems are still catching up to ambition, you don’t just manage by metrics. You manage by relationships.

Step 5: Recognize progress, not perfection

Let’s be honest: KPIs can be demoralizing. Especially when things don’t go to plan. So we’ve built a culture that celebrates trend improvements, not just absolute targets.

If one team improves stock accuracy from 76% to 84% in a quarter, we cheer. Not because it’s perfect. But because it’s progress.

At LELEADER, we don’t weaponize KPIs. We use them to ask better questions, spark learning, and make smarter bets.

A moment on the global stage

This year, we’re proud that LELEADER GROUP is nominated for the 2025 Go Global Awards, hosted by the International Trade Council in London. It’s a moment of recognition, yes. But more importantly, it’s a forum for shared ideas.

In a world where businesses are increasingly scattered—by region, by regulation, by market—the ability to monitor performance with nuance and empathy is a real competitive edge.

The Go Global Awards remind us: growth is good. But sustainable, trackable, human-led growth is even better.

Final thought

KPIs won’t tell you everything. They won’t predict blackouts, border delays, or community protests. They won’t capture the spirit of a team that pulled off a miracle under pressure.

But they give you a compass. And if you use that compass wisely—paired with curiosity and humility—you’ll navigate just fine.