Our operations director refuses to take personal ownership of our weekly project error rate on the leadership Scorecard because the errors are made by front-line technicians. Who must own the measurable when the work is executed two tiers below the leadership team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The operations director must own the number on the leadership Scorecard. There are no exceptions in EOS.

A leadership team member cannot dodge accountability on the company Scorecard by blaming front-line staff, third-party contractors, or market conditions. Ownership of a Scorecard measurable does not mean you personally performed the physical task. It means you are the single human being on the planet accountable for ensuring the standard is achieved, the process is followed, and the number hits its target every seven days.

When an operations leader claims they cannot control front-line error rates, they are confusing execution with leadership. If technicians are making mistakes, the operations leader either has an undocumented or flawed core process, a training failure, or the wrong people in those technician seats who lack GWC (Get It, Want It, Capacity).

Each number on the leadership Scorecard must correspond to exactly one seat on your leadership Accountability Chart. The leader in that seat is responsible for driving the outcome by coaching their team, refining operational tools, or replacing underperforming personnel.

If the operations director refuses to own the measurable, you do not change the metric or create shared ownership. You address the leader. Either they step up, take radical accountability for the output of their department, and build the systems necessary to hit the weekly target, or they are demonstrating that they do not have GWC for an executive seat in your business.