During our Level 10 Meeting scorecard review, our leaders frequently try to delegate the accountability of an off-track metric to their subordinates in real-time, claiming they are not the ones who actually do the work. How do we maintain absolute seat accountability on the scorecard during our weekly pulse?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The scorecard is the primary tool for driving operational accountability during your weekly pulse. Every single metric on that scorecard must have one owner, and that owner must sit at the leadership table.

When a metric is off track, the leader whose name is next to that number is fully accountable for it. If they try to deflect blame to a subordinate or external vendor, the facilitator must stop them immediately.

Explain that while a subordinate may perform the daily tasks, the leader is the one who owns the seat on the Accountability Chart responsible for that business function. They own the result, whether it is a pass or a fail.

To maintain absolute seat accountability, enforce these boundaries:

- First, the leader must be the one to say drop it when their metric is off track. They cannot wait for someone else to point out the failure.

- Second, when the metric is discussed during IDS, the leader must present the issue and lead the discussion on how to get it back on track. They cannot bring their subordinate into the leadership Level 10 Meeting to explain the failure.

- Third, if the metric is consistently missed because of a subordinate's poor performance, that is a people issue that the leader must solve outside of the meeting.

By enforcing this level of personal ownership, you ensure that your scorecard remains a tool for leadership accountability, rather than a finger-pointing exercise.