Unaligned metrics
Ensure that the objectives and metrics you define support your company's and unit's strategic goals. Too many managers decide to measure aspects of their group's performance that have little connection to higher-level goals.
For example, a call-center manager might take a keen interest in his group's ability to process customer phone calls quickly. The manager tells his employees that he's measuring how quickly they process and complete calls—and bases their performance evaluations on this metric. You can be certain that employees will work hard to get callers off the line promptly. But if the company has defined a strategy involving cross-selling, hustling callers off the phone as fast as possible could easily undermine the corporate strategy.