We waste a lot of time in our Level 10 Meetings debating who is actually responsible for a scorecard metric when it goes red, especially when two different departments impact the number. How do we resolve these ownership disputes?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A metric with more than one owner has no owner at all. When you allow two departments to share responsibility for a single scorecard number, you create a perfect environment for finger-pointing and excuse-making during your weekly Level 10 Meeting™.

To eliminate this waste, you must return to the fundamentals of the Accountability Chart. Every single metric on your Scorecard must have exactly one owner. That owner is the individual who is ultimately accountable for that number being green or red, even if they rely on other departments to help achieve it.

If a metric goes red, the single owner must be the one to stand up, mark it red, and drop it down to the Issues List for IDS®. During the problem-solving session, that owner is responsible for leading the discussion, identifying the root cause, and driving the team to a solution.

If your team is constantly arguing about who owns a metric, it is a sign that your Accountability Chart is unclear. Stop the meeting debate and put the structural issue on the board. Use your IDS® time to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the seats involved. Once the structural alignment is resolved, update your Scorecard so that every number has a single, unambiguous owner.