As year-end approaches, many teams fixate on who hit target and who fell short, as though those numbers alone tell the full story.
But results only show what happened, not why it happened and without understanding the why, leaders risk repeating the same year again.
Part 2 of this mini-series challenges from Volker Balluede explores the idea that quota attainment is the only measure of performance, and instead explores the deeper patterns, behaviours, and moments that actually drive outcomes.
Key Takeaways from Volker Ballueder:
- Results are the headline, not the story – Target attainment shows what happened, but leaders need to dig deeper to understand the patterns, behaviours, and decisions that actually drove outcomes.
- Curiosity turns data into insight – By examining wins and losses through question rather than judgement, leaders uncover the real themes behind momentum, stalled deals, and repeatable success.
- Learning beats luck – Teams grow faster when they analyse why things worked or failed, share insights openly, and build next year’s playbook from lived experience rather than polished dashboards.
About Volker Ballueder:
Volker Ballueder is a seasoned leadership coach with over two decades of commercial experience across SaaS, tech, and high-growth scale-ups. Having led teams through acquisitions, restructures, rapid expansion, and the pressure of board-level decision-making, he brings a rare blend of strategic clarity and emotional intelligence to every engagement.
He works with founders, CEOs, CROs, and senior leadership teams who are navigating growth, tension, or change. His approach is direct yet supportive, cutting through noise, surfacing the real issues, and guiding leaders towards sharper decisions, stronger culture, and sustainable performance.
His background spans executive coaching, psychotherapy, NLP, and mindfulness, giving him the tools to address both the strategic and human sides of leadership. Volker’s clients include leaders from global brands such as PepsiCo, Sky, JCDecaux, Boots, and DHL, alongside ambitious scale-ups facing real-world pressure.




