Some of our leadership team members consistently miss their weekly scorecard targets but always have a reasonable-sounding excuse, making it hard to enforce accountability. How do we use the scorecard to determine if a leader truly GWCs their seat or if we have set the wrong targets?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When leadership team members consistently miss their scorecard targets but always have a rational justification, you are facing an accountability issue, not a data issue. In EOS, we use the GWC tool, which stands for Get It, Want It, and Capacity to Do It, to evaluate whether we have the right people in the right seats. If a leader cannot hit their scorecard numbers, you must determine if they truly GWC their seat.

First, audit the scorecard metric itself. Is the goal realistic, and does the seat owner have direct influence over the activities that drive that number? If the metric is fair and realistic, yet they consistently miss it, they may lack the capacity to execute the role. Capacity is not just about time; it is about emotional intelligence, skills, and the mental capability to deliver results.

Use your weekly Level 10 Meeting to address these patterns. When a metric is off track for several weeks, do not accept excuses. Put the trend on your Issues list and IDS it. Ask the seat owner what specific obstacles are preventing them from hitting their targets.

If they cannot provide a clear plan to correct the trend, or if they continue to blame external factors, you must have an honest conversation about whether they fit the seat on your Accountability Chart. A true leader who GWCs their seat owns their numbers completely, views a red metric as an urgent call to action, and works to solve it rather than explain it away.