We are struggling to assign ownership of several scorecard metrics because our Integrator thinks they should own all high-level numbers, while our department heads feel they only control their local activities. Who should actually own each number on our leadership team Scorecard?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Every single measurable on your leadership team Scorecard must have one, and only one, owner. That owner must be a seat on your Accountability Chart. If you have two names next to a number, nobody is accountable.

The Integrator does not own every number. The Integrator owns the healthy, harmonious execution of the entire business, but individual numbers must live with the seat that has the direct ability to impact them. For example, weekly sales appointments belongs to the Sales Leader seat. Cash balance belongs to the Finance seat.

When assigning ownership, look at who has the GWC (Get It, Want It, Capacity to Do It) for that activity. The owner of the metric is not necessarily the person who types the data into the spreadsheet every week. The owner is the leader who is accountable for explaining why the number is red and bringing a solution to the table during the IDS portion of your Level 10 Meeting.

If a metric spans multiple departments, you must still choose a single owner. For instance, customer onboarding time involves both sales and operations. The operations seat should own the metric because they manage the final delivery. The sales seat is responsible for inputting clean client data, which can be tracked as a separate leading indicator on their local scorecard. Keep it simple and keep accountability absolute.