Every member of my leadership team has green metrics on their individual department scorecards, but our overall company profitability is down. How do we fix this disconnect and get the team aligned on shared accountability?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When individual department scorecards are green but overall company profitability is down, your leadership team is operating in silos. Your directors are managing their departments to meet their own local goals without understanding or caring how their actions impact the overall financial health of the business.

You must break these silos and align the team around shared accountability. Start by revising your weekly Scorecard. Ensure that the very top of your Scorecard features high-level, company-wide metrics, such as net profit margin, operating cash flow, and overall revenue, that the entire leadership team is collectively responsible for.

During your Level 10 Meeting™, review these company-wide numbers first. If the company metrics are red, it does not matter if an individual department is green. This forces your leaders to stop celebrating their isolated successes when the business is struggling.

Encourage your directors to collaborate across departments to solve company-wide issues. When your team realizes that their individual success is tied directly to the overall health of the business, they will stop hoarding resources and start making decisions that drive enterprise value, preparing your company for a successful exit.