As the Integrator, I am struggling to enforce true ownership of our weekly scorecard numbers when my leadership team members blame external market factors or other departments for their red metrics. How do I instill absolute accountability for a number?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your scorecard numbers turn red and your leadership team starts pointing fingers, you have an accountability problem, not a data problem. To truly instill absolute accountability for a metric, you must enforce the core EOS® principle: every scorecard metric must have one, and only one, owner.

Defining True Ownership

The owner of a metric is the specific seat on the [Accountability Chart](/qa/resolving-accountability-chart-seat-overlaps) responsible for that outcome. This responsibility holds true regardless of who inputs the data or what external factors might be at play.

• GWC™ Test: If the owner of a metric blames another department or external forces, it indicates they do not GWC™ (Get it, Want it, have the Capacity to do it) for their seat. The individual owning the metric must possess the authority and influence to affect its outcome.
• Focus on the Right Metric:
• If a marketing director blames sales for not closing leads, remind them that their metric is typically marketing qualified leads, not closed deals.
• If a sales director blames a slow market for low client outreach, they are confusing activity with results. Their accountability is for the sales activities within their control.

Enforcing Accountability in Meetings

As the Integrator, your role in the [Level 10 Meeting™](/qa/how-to-review-scorecard-under-five-minutes) is crucial for maintaining focus and pushing for solutions.

• No Explanations During Scorecard Review: When a number is red, do not allow for lengthy explanations or "stories" during the initial scorecard review segment. This part of the meeting is for quickly reporting the facts.
• Drop to the Issues List: Immediately drop the red number to the [Issues List](/qa/using-accountability-chart-to-stop-blame-in-ids). This reserves deeper discussion for the IDS® (Identify, Discuss, Solve) portion of the meeting, which is specifically designed for problem-solving.
• Push for Solutions: During IDS®, push the owner of that metric to:
• Identify the root cause of the problem.
• Discuss potential solutions with the team.
• Solve the issue by committing to specific actions.
• Focus on Internal Influence: Guide them away from listing external excuses and instead, challenge them to identify what they will do to solve the problem, taking full ownership of their part.

True ownership means the individual is responsible not only for diagnosing the issue but also for presenting a viable solution to the team and executing it. This fosters a culture where every leader is actively engaged in improving their metrics.

Related questions

• [How do we review our weekly scorecard in under five minutes?](/qa/how-to-review-scorecard-under-five-minutes)
• [One of our key managers gets defensive and starts explaining away the context every time their scorecard metric drops into the red. How do we handle this in the Level 10 Meeting?](/qa/handling-defensiveness-around-red-scorecard-metrics)
• [When an issue is dropped to IDS, my leadership team immediately starts pointing fingers at other departments rather than taking ownership. How do we use the Accountability Chart to stop the blame game during meetings?](/qa/using-accountability-chart-to-stop-blame-in-ids)
• [My leadership team is struggling to agree on what actually deserves a spot on our high level scorecard. How do we narrow down our massive list of metrics to just five to fifteen numbers?](/qa/how-to-choose-five-fifteen-scorecard-metrics)
• [Our scorecard is packed with metrics like closed sales and completed projects, but we still feel reactive. How do we shift our focus from lagging results to weekly leading indicators?](/qa/leading-vs-lagging-scorecard-metrics)