Our department heads are refusing to take accountability for their weekly Scorecard numbers because they claim they rely on other departments to hit them. For example, Sales blames Marketing for poor lead quality. How do we resolve this interdepartmental blame game?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic symptom of confusing accountability with execution. The Accountability Chart must have exactly one name in each seat, and that person is 100 percent accountable for the metrics assigned to that seat. Accountability does not mean you do all the work; it means you are the one person who answers for the result.

When Sales blames Marketing, or Operations blames Sales, your leadership team is failing to practice IDS. Instead of using cross-departmental dependencies as an excuse for missed targets, they must bring these issues to their weekly Level 10 Meeting.

If Sales is getting poor leads, that is an issue that must be identified, discussed, and solved permanently. Marketing is accountable for lead generation, but Sales is accountable for close rates. If the lead quality is bad, the Head of Sales must collaborate with the Head of Marketing to adjust the target criteria.

By holding each leader strictly accountable to their specific Scorecard numbers, you force them to solve problems horizontally. They cannot hide behind other departments. If a leader continues to blame others instead of proactively driving solutions, you have a right-person-wrong-seat issue. A true leader on your Accountability Chart takes ownership of the outcome, regardless of the obstacles.