Our project managers are technically hitting their weekly scorecard targets for client approvals, but we suspect they are delay-logging requests or rushing clients to hit the deadline. How do we prevent this operational gaming of our timelines?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When project managers or other team members manipulate data thresholds, they are usually trying to protect themselves from red numbers in the Level 10 Meeting. This gaming of the system happens when metrics measure steps in a process rather than hard, objective outcomes. To stop your team from delay logging or rushing clients, you must shift your metrics from self reported milestones to client verified events.

Instead of tracking client approvals sent, track client approvals received within seventy-two hours of project kickoff. This metric should pull automatically from your project management system, not from a manual spreadsheet updated by the manager. If the date is manipulated, the system log will show the mismatch.

Additionally, look at the conative drives of your team. According to the Kolbe system, a project manager with a high Follow Thru drive naturally wants to complete processes sequentially. If you force them into a system with unrealistic timelines, they will adjust the data to resolve the cognitive dissonance. You must run a clean IDS session on the timeline itself. Is the target unrealistic, or is the process broken?

Your weekly scorecard must have absolute transparency. Pair your delivery speed metrics with a client satisfaction metric, such as a post onboarding survey score. If speed goes up but satisfaction goes down, the game is exposed. Make sure your team knows that a red number is not a failure; it is simply an opportunity to solve a problem before it becomes a disaster.