The Green Dashboard Trap: Why Institutions Lose Sight of Their Own Intent

Everything can look fine while the organisation is already drifting. Performance indicators can improve while meaning quietly erodes. This paper introduces the Green Dashboard Trap: when metrics signal success even as alignment is lost. Because institutions act on what is measured, dashboards can stabilise drift instead of revealing it. The result is systems that look healthy while moving away from their purpose. About the Coherence ProgrammeThe Coherence Programme studies why institutions drift despite appearing aligned. It shows that decisions are made not on intent itself, but on how intent is translated into criteria, metrics, and allocation rules. Using the Operating Spine, the programme traces how…