We have successfully rolled out departmental scorecards, but we are finding a massive disconnect where the individual department metrics look great while the leadership team scorecard is consistently red. How do we align these layers of data?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A disconnect between departmental scorecards and the leadership team scorecard is a common issue when scaling. If department metrics are green but the leadership scorecard is red, your metrics are not properly aligned, or you are tracking activities that do not actually drive leadership-level outcomes.

To fix this, you must run a top-down audit of your data. The metrics on your departmental scorecards must directly feed and support the high-level numbers on your leadership scorecard.

For example, if the leadership scorecard has a metric for weekly sales revenue, the sales department scorecard should track the leading indicators that produce that revenue, such as outbound calls made, demos scheduled, and proposals sent. If those department metrics are green but revenue is still red, then your conversion rates have dropped, or your outbound activities are not targeting the right buyers.

Use this disconnect as an opportunity to run IDS® in your leadership meeting. Look at the specific leadership metric that is red and trace it down to the departmental scorecards. Find where the chain is broken, adjust the department-level targets or activities, and ensure that every level of your business is pulling in the same direction.