Our VP of Operations owns the delivery capacity metric on our leadership scorecard, but the actual data is gathered and executed by three regional managers who do not sit on the leadership team. When the number goes red, the VP blames the regional managers instead of taking ownership. How do we resolve this disconnect between scorecard metric ownership and front line execution?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A major breakdown in accountability occurs when a leadership team member owns a scorecard metric but blames their regional or department managers when that metric goes red. On a healthy EOS® leadership team, scorecard ownership does not mean you are the person physically typing in the data or doing the daily work. It means you are entirely accountable for the result of that number. To resolve this friction, you must clarify the difference between metric execution and metric accountability. The VP of Operations owns the delivery capacity metric because they own the seat on the Accountability Chart™ that is responsible for operational efficiency. If the regional managers are failing to hit their numbers, that is an issue of leadership, training, or process adherence. The VP of Operations cannot use their team as an excuse. When the number goes red, the VP must bring that red number to the Level 10 Meeting™ as their own issue. They must say, Our delivery capacity is red because region two is facing a hiring bottleneck, and here is my plan to solve it. If the VP fails to take ownership, you must address this during the IDS® portion of your meeting. Use the GWC™ tool to evaluate if the VP truly wants and has the capacity to lead this department. Furthermore, ensure that the regional managers have their own departmental scorecards that roll up to the leadership scorecard. This makes the data fully transparent and allows the VP to hold their direct reports accountable before the leadership meeting ever starts.