Beyond the Scorecard: The Story You Own Shapes Your Leadership
My wife and I have four young kids at home, so I get to see a broad range of human behaviors and emotions every day. If you don’t have kids, but you have employees, you’ll probably still relate.
Recently, one of our little ones provoked his big brother while they were playing outside. Big brother reacted by chasing him down and tackling him—a moment I caught through the window. Typically, “lil’ bro” doesn’t mind a bit of roughhousing, but this time it was genuine anger, so I intervened.
Our seven-year-old is still figuring out how to acknowledge his emotions without letting them take over, and how to own his own actions. When things don’t go his way, he might shut down or lash out. Rather than accept responsibility for his own responses, he focuses on what was done to him—shifting blame and complaining because it’s more comfortable.
You can probably see the business lesson coming. Fixating on what’s been done to us—and how it makes us feel—isn’t limited to children. A basic principle of responsibility can haunt us well into adulthood: Own your actions and decisions, not someone else’s.
While most adults appear responsible on the surface, the same struggle can crop up in any professional environment. It’s not just for kids in the backyard. Taking responsibility is essential to growing into a mature professional.
Taking Ownership in Complex Professional Situations
Measuring performance can be simple in some fields—like professional sports, where a player’s batting average or points scored remove much of the guesswork. Yet many business settings are far more nuanced: rarely is it just “how many points did I score?” Even a clear Profit & Loss (P&L) statement can’t fully capture the long-term effects of individual decisions.
Still, every organization has a scorecard, whether or not leadership pays attention to it. For product or service companies, sales is often a straightforward metric, but it doesn’t tell the entire story. Leaders also need to consider intangible factors—like brand perception, innovation, or operational health—that don’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet.
Many internal roles, like Product Management, are especially difficult to measure. New initiatives may require a long runway before seeing tangible payoffs. If a project fails, it might be dismissed as “just a pilot” or blamed on market timing, budget constraints, or company-wide strategy. Similar excuses can be argued for marketing, operations, or human resources.
A number of frameworks exist to bring alignment and measurement to companies of various sizes. Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), popularized at Google (my first employer), is one that many organizations swear by. Another, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), has a big following among small and medium-sized businesses. Both provide more visibility into how employees track against key goals, though neither is foolproof.
Ultimately, wherever the scorecard leaves off, personal interpretation begins.
Own the Outcome?
Does the scorecard accurately measure how well we’re doing? Two books I’ve recommended on this topic to different leaders are:
Jocko Willink’s Extreme Ownership
Brandon West’s It Is Not Your Business to Succeed
Willink insists that leaders must assume unwavering responsibility for hitting objectives, regardless of external pressures. West, meanwhile, redefines success itself: rather than making it the ultimate goal, he advocates humility and following the right path—even if it doesn’t produce a “win” by the world’s standards. So, while Willink highlights relentless pursuit of mission success, West suggests that external success isn’t the final measure of value.
Despite these differences, both authors agree on one critical principle: leaders can’t sit around complaining when circumstances are unfavorable. Early in my startup journey, I often blamed our lack of funding for not being able to make a bigger impact. In hindsight, that was a waste of time and emotional energy—especially since I’ve seen plenty of bootstrapped founders accomplish amazing things.
The Heart of Responsibility
Different worldviews explain why a complaining mindset undermines leadership in different ways. Some Eastern traditions emphasize Karma; some postmodern or “spiritual but not religious” perspectives might call it Vibes. In Western faith traditions (where I place myself), there’s an all-knowing God who entrusts people with tasks to test and develop them before granting more responsibility:
Luke 16:10 (ESV)
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
No matter how “winning” or “success” is defined, growth doesn’t come from dwelling on our circumstances. Instead, each of us can own:
The commitments we make—and whether we follow through
Choosing hope over fear in our mindset
Acting transparently in a way that earns trust
The decisions entirely within our control right now
Focusing on these internal benchmarks is a better gauge of progress than obsessing about what’s happening to us or around us.
Reckoning with Failure
After eight years of building my startup with a co-founder, the company ultimately failed. It was acquired, but not in a particularly glorious exit, and our investors only recouped a fraction of their money.
I could cite real external causes:
Competitors raised more capital
A crucial partnership dissolved
Economic forces upended our market
But dwelling on those doesn’t help me grow. Complexity often multiplies challenges, but it also multiplies opportunities. I must look at my own decisions:
I waited too long to reduce expenses and preserve cash
My revenue forecasts didn’t fully reflect certain market risks
I pushed myself for years, resulting in burnout that compromised my effectiveness
If I simply blame outside forces, I rob myself of valuable learning. The next time I face a similar situation, I won’t be any better prepared if I gave myself an “out” before.
Showing my son how to separate what happens around him from how he reacts is a reminder that we’re never done growing. Becoming more self-aware is the surest path to maturity—for children and business leaders alike.