Whenever a metric on our weekly Scorecard turns red, my team gets defensive and starts explaining it away instead of solving the problem. How do I remove the fear and make the Scorecard an objective tool?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Defensive behavior around red metrics happens because your team thinks the weekly scorecard is a performance review tool. They view a red number as a personal failure or an accusation, so they instinctively prepare excuses.

- You must change the culture around the Scorecard. A red metric is not a criticism; it is simply an early warning signal. It means an activity is off track and needs attention before it becomes a major problem.

- When a metric is red, do not ask who messed up. Instead, say, this metric is red, let's drop it down to our weekly issues list so we can IDS® it.

- During the IDS® portion, focus on the process and the resources, not the person. Is the target realistic? Do we have a breakdown in our core process? Does the seat owner have the capacity to hit this number?

When your team sees that a red metric leads to collaborative problem-solving instead of blame, their defensiveness will vanish. They will start welcoming the red metrics because they know the team will help them solve the underlying issue.