One of our department heads is consistently missing their weekly scorecard target, but they insist the issue is due to a broken internal process rather than their own performance. How do we use our weekly data to determine if we have a process bottleneck or a person issue in that seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a weekly scorecard metric is consistently red and the seat owner points to a broken process, your leadership team must use data to separate human performance from operational bottlenecks. To diagnose this, look at the correlation between activity metrics and outcome metrics on your Scorecard.

If the seat owner is hitting all of their activity-based leading indicators, such as outbound calls or tasks completed, but the final outcome metric remains red, you likely have a process or systemic issue. The person in the seat is doing the necessary work, but the system is not producing the desired result. This is a process bottleneck that requires the team to IDS® and optimize the workflow.

Conversely, if the activity-based leading indicators are consistently red, you have a performance issue. The seat owner is simply not performing the required actions to hit the target. In this case, you must evaluate if they truly have the GWC™ (Get it, Want it, Capacity to do it) for that specific seat on your Accountability Chart.

Using this dual-metric approach prevents you from blaming a hard-working team member for a broken system, and it prevents a struggling employee from hiding behind process complaints. Let the weekly data guide your coaching and operational adjustments.