We want to stick to the rule of tracking only five to fifteen numbers on our leadership team scorecard, but every department head insists that their specific department cannot function unless we track their favorite operational metrics at the top level. How do we draw the line between a leadership-level scorecard metric and a department-level metric?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To draw a clear line between leadership-level and department-level metrics, you must focus on the absolute vital signs of the business. The leadership team scorecard is not a dump of every operational task. It is a tool for the leadership team to gain an objective pulse on the entire organization and identify issues early. If a department head insists on tracking their specific team metrics at the leadership level, ask one question: If this number drops, does it immediately threaten our quarterly Rocks, our cash position, or our core customer experience? If the answer is no, that metric belongs on that specific department's scorecard, not the leadership scorecard. Every major seat on your Accountability Chart should have one or two high-level, activity-based leading indicators on the leadership scorecard. For example, your head of operations might own total weekly billable utilization across the firm, while their departmental scorecard tracks individual team member utilization. This keeps your leadership scorecard focused on the five to fifteen numbers that run the entire business. If a department head wants to discuss their specific metrics, they can do so in their departmental Level 10 Meeting. By keeping the leadership scorecard clean, you ensure the leadership team spends their time solving systemic issues during the IDS portion of the meeting rather than getting bogged down in minor departmental details.