We have successfully implemented a leadership team Scorecard, but our departmental teams are resisting their own scorecards, claiming it feels like micromanagement. How do we bridge this gap and get the departmental seats to embrace tracking their weekly metrics?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a department resists a scorecard, it is usually because the metrics have been handed down from on high without their input. No one likes to be told what their numbers are. To overcome this friction, you must involve the departmental teams in the creation of their own scorecards.

Start by explaining the why. Explain that a scorecard is actually a tool for empowerment. It gives individual team members a clear, objective definition of what success looks like in their seat. It eliminates subjective performance reviews and allows them to prove their value with cold, hard facts.

Then, guide the department heads to facilitate a meeting with their teams. Ask the team members: what are the three to five daily or weekly activities that you perform that have the biggest impact on your department's goals? Let them propose the metrics and the targets. When employees help write the rules of the game, they are far more likely to play to win. Make sure their departmental scorecards feed directly into the leadership team's Scorecard, creating a clear line of sight from their daily work to the company's overall success.