Yup - too much reliance on metrics
...and anything that can be quantifiable, where anything that can't be graphed is completely ignored. Plus the false belief that a good communicator makes everyone feel good about themselves, though the ability to communicate the situation clearly and accurately is optional.
I don't remember the number, but the one about seeing problems and bringing them into the light so they can be addressed is really important too. In my mind that's the devil's advocate. They've been a rare breed for a long time, hunted down and eliminated because they're the messenger. As in, don't kill the messenger, but they do anyway. I've seen that happen a few times, saw an office of people lose their jobs because of it when a great product turned into vaporware because no one wanted to hear the difficult truth and they canned the one true expert for not being a team player.
I digressed a bit, but it does illustrate the importance of that particular soft skill. Unfortunately, much of it doesn't matter if the majority continues to focus on playing nice and making sure everyone always wins (or the boss always wins) and instead learns to deal with difficult situations that may inconvenience some in the short term but will be beneficial in the long run.
