How much of your business actually runs without you? For each situation, drag the slider to where your business honestly sits today. Nobody sees this but you.
How it works: each question describes a situation, with an example to make it clear. Score it from 0 to 10 on the slider — 0 is chaos, 1 is it only happens because of you, the middle is a key person or an informal habit, and 10 is fully systemised and runs without any one person. Open “see the full ladder” under any slider if you want the wording for each point.
0 of 25 scored0%
System 1 · Sales & Marketing
not scored
1Chasing ghosts
The situation: When a lead comes in, is there one clear, shared standard for who is worth chasing that everyone follows, or does each person go on their own gut?
For example: At Sharp Ltd, every lead is scored against an agreed profile before anyone picks up the phone, so the team only spends time on leads worth having. At Grind Ltd there’s no standard, so the newest salesperson burns three weeks on a prospect who was never going to buy but loved the attention, while a good lead goes cold in the inbox.
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0Chaos We don’t qualify leads at all. Everyone chases whatever they fancy.
1Stuck with me I’m the only one who can really tell a good lead from a bad one. Without me filtering, it doesn’t happen — the judgement is in my head alone.
2–3Hostage to a key person I’ve handed it to one or a couple of key people. They go on my guidance and their own judgement, but there’s still no standard — it lives in their heads, not the business.
4–5Messy The team shares a rough sense of a good lead, but nothing’s written down, so it’s inconsistent.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve written down what a good lead looks like, but people don’t follow it consistently.
8–9Mostly there We’ve an agreed, documented standard the team mostly uses, though the odd poor-fit lead still slips through.
10Nailed it Every lead is scored against a clear, shared standard before we spend a minute on it, so poor-fit leads always get filtered out early, whoever’s handling them.
2£20k here, £12k there
The situation: Is there a proper pricing structure — a floor, set rates and clear rules on who can discount and by how much — or does the price come down to who is quoting and how badly they want the win?
For example: Two salespeople quote near enough the same job. One comes in at £20k, the other at £12k, and both would knock off another ten per cent to close. Neither could tell you how they landed on the number.
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0Chaos Every price is made up on the spot. There are no rules, and margin is whatever’s left after the discount.
1Stuck with me I’m the only one who knows what we should really charge and when a discount’s fair. If I’m not in the room, it’s a guess.
2–3Hostage to a key person I’ve let one or two trusted people price deals, but they go on their feel and my steer, not a set structure. It leaves with them.
4–5Messy The team has a rough sense of pricing, but there’s no agreed floor or discount limit, so keen sellers still give away margin.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve documented our pricing and discount rules, but people don’t stick to them when a deal gets tight.
8–9Mostly there There’s a clear pricing structure the team mostly prices within, with the occasional exception slipping through.
10Nailed it Everyone prices within clear floors and discount limits every time. Exceptions are a deliberate decision, not a habit.
3How is the month looking?
The situation: Can anyone other than you see the true state of the pipeline — what’s in it, what stage each deal is at and what’s likely to land — or does it live in scattered heads and hope?
For example: It’s the 20th. You ask what’ll close by month end and get a shrug and a couple of names. If you were off sick for a fortnight, nobody could tell a bank or a buyer what’s actually in play.
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0Chaos There’s no shared pipeline at all. Deals live in inboxes, notebooks and heads, and the forecast is a feeling.
1Stuck with me I’m the only one who can piece the real picture together, because I carry it in my head. No one else could tell you what’s happening.
2–3In one person’s head One key person — a sales manager, say — holds the picture, but it’s in their head, not a system the business can see.
4–5Messy Deals are logged somewhere, but it’s patchy and out of date, so nobody really trusts it or uses it to decide.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve a proper pipeline set up and everyone’s meant to keep it current, but they don’t, so it’s only half true.
8–9Mostly there The pipeline’s shared and mostly up to date. The forecast is roughly right, with the odd deal missing or stale.
10Nailed it Everyone sees what’s in play, what stage it’s at and what’s likely to close. Forecasting runs on live data, not optimism.
4The lead that went cold
The situation: Does every lead get followed up on a set schedule whether people remember or not, or does follow-up only happen when someone gets round to it?
For example: A keen buyer has a great call and is told “I’ll send that over.” It never goes. A fortnight later they’ve signed with a competitor who actually rang them back.
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0Chaos Follow-up happens if someone remembers. Warm leads die quietly and nobody notices.
1Stuck with me Leads only get chased because I chase them. I’m the safety net, and if I’m busy, they slip.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two switched-on people follow up well, but it’s their own habit — take them out and it stops.
4–5Messy People follow up in their own way, but there’s no set schedule, so it’s hit and miss across the team.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve agreed a follow-up process, but people don’t stick to it once they get busy.
8–9Mostly there There’s a follow-up schedule the team mostly runs, with the odd lead still falling through the cracks.
10Nailed it Every lead gets followed up on a set schedule whether anyone remembers or not. Nothing warm goes cold from neglect.
5If your best closer quit on Friday
The situation: When your top performer leaves, does their know-how and their client relationships stay with the business, or walk out with them?
For example: Your best salesperson hands in their notice. How they read a room, the clients who trust them, the promises made, the half-finished deals — if it’s all in their head, most of it walks out on Friday.
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0All in their head It’s all in their head and nowhere else. If they left on Friday, we’d lose the relationships, the pipeline and the know-how in one go.
1The backstop is me The only backstop is me. I could personally step in and hold a few things together, but the business itself couldn’t — the dependency just moves to me.
2–3Bits, in a few heads A couple of colleagues know bits of what they do, picked up by working alongside them, but nothing’s captured — it still leaves when they do.
4–5Data only The basics live in the system — contacts, deal history — but how they actually win, and the relationships, aren’t written down anywhere.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve started writing down their approach and logging client intelligence, but it’s patchy and nobody really uses it yet.
8–9Mostly there Most of what they know and hold is captured and shared, and others work that way too. Losing them would sting, not break us.
10Nailed it Everything they do runs on shared process and shared relationships. If they walked out on Friday, the system wouldn’t skip a beat.
System 2 · Customer Experience
not scored
6The silent welcome
The situation: When a new client signs, do they all get the same proper welcome and setup — who to call, what happens next, what to expect — or does it depend on who signed them and how busy that person was?
For example: One client signs and hears nothing for a week, left wondering if the money even arrived. Another, brought in by someone who does this well, gets the full red carpet. Same company, two first impressions.
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0Chaos A new client signs and nothing happens. What welcome they get, if any, is pure luck.
1Stuck with me When I onboard a client myself they get the full treatment. Hand it to anyone else and it falls apart — it depends on me.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two good people give clients a proper welcome, but it’s their own way of doing it, not something the business owns.
4–5Messy People onboard in their own style, some thorough, some barely, with no agreed steps, so the experience swings.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve a proper onboarding process written down, but it isn’t followed every time, so some clients still slip through.
8–9Mostly there Most new clients go through the same onboarding, with the odd one getting a partial version when things are busy.
10Nailed it Every new client goes through the same onboarding, start to finish, whoever signed them. Nobody’s forgotten and no step depends on someone remembering.
7You only call when you want paying
The situation: Do clients hear from the business regularly as a matter of course, or only when something’s gone wrong or it’s time for them to pay?
For example: Think of your average client. When did they last hear from you with no problem to sort and no invoice attached? For a lot of firms, contact only flows when there’s a complaint to handle or a bill to chase.
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0Chaos Clients only hear from us when there’s a problem or a payment due. The rest of the time, silence.
1Stuck with me Clients stay in touch because I keep in touch. Take me out and it dries up to just problems and invoices.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two people keep their own clients warm, but it’s down to them personally — it’s not how the business runs.
4–5Messy Some of the team stay in regular contact, others don’t, so whether a client hears from us depends who holds the account.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve agreed how often clients should hear from us, but it doesn’t reliably happen, so plenty still drift.
8–9Mostly there Most clients hear from us regularly beyond problems and bills, with a few still slipping quiet when we’re busy.
10Nailed it Every client hears from us regularly as a matter of course, not just when something’s wrong or a payment’s due, and nobody slips through.
8Same company, or pot luck
The situation: When a client needs help, do they get the same standard of response whoever picks up the phone, or is it the luck of the draw?
For example: Two clients hit the same problem the same morning. One gets your sharpest person and it’s sorted in an hour. The other waits a day and gets no update. Same company, same problem, two completely different experiences.
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0Chaos How a client’s looked after depends entirely on who picks up and how busy they are. Some get sorted, some get forgotten.
1Stuck with me Clients get properly looked after when it reaches me. I’m the backstop, so anything tricky waits for me.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two people handle clients brilliantly, but it’s their own standard, not the business’s — it goes with them.
4–5Messy Some of the team look after clients well, others don’t, and there’s no agreed standard, so it varies by who catches it.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve a standard for how clients should be handled written down, but it isn’t applied consistently under pressure.
8–9Mostly there Most clients get a consistent response whoever they reach, with the odd one slipping when things get hectic.
10Nailed it Every client gets the same response and follow-through whoever picks up, because it’s how we work, not down to who’s on the other end.
9When a client is about to walk
The situation: When a valuable client is about to leave, can your team step in and recover them, or does saving them depend entirely on you?
For example: A good client has had enough and is ready to go. If that email lands while you’re away, does anyone have the standing and the skill to save the relationship, or does the client quietly walk because the only person who could have rescued it was you?
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0Chaos When a client’s had enough, we usually only find out once they’ve gone. Nobody’s really set up to catch it or turn it round.
1Stuck with me I’m the only one who can save an at-risk client. If it doesn’t reach me in time, we lose them.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two senior people can pull a client back from the brink, but it’s their personal touch, not something the business can rely on.
4–5Messy Some of the team can handle an unhappy client, others escalate everything, so whether we save them depends who’s dealing with it.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve agreed how to handle a client threatening to leave, but it isn’t really followed when it actually happens.
8–9Mostly there The team can usually step in and recover an at-risk client, with the tougher ones still landing on me.
10Nailed it Anyone senior can step in, hold the relationship and recover a client who’s about to walk, without it ever needing me.
10What you know that they don’t
The situation: If you were out of reach for a month, would your team know what you know about each key client — their quirks, their real decision-maker, their sensitivities — or does that live only with you?
For example: You’re on a plane. Your biggest client rings with something delicate. What your team doesn’t know: this client’s had a rocky year, the real decision-maker is the FD not the person calling, and there’s history over a disputed invoice. All of it is in your head.
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0Chaos The real intelligence on our key clients isn’t written anywhere. Who decides, what spooks them, the history — it’s carried in heads, if at all.
1Stuck with me Only I really know our key clients — how to handle them, who matters, what to avoid. It’s all in my head.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two account holders know their clients inside out, but it’s in their heads. If they go, that knowledge goes too.
4–5Messy There are basic notes in the system — contacts, past jobs — but not the real ‘how to handle this client’ intelligence, and it varies by who kept them.
6–7Written, not followed We’re meant to record client intelligence in the CRM, but it’s patchy and goes stale, so it can’t really be trusted.
8–9Mostly there Most key clients have proper, current notes, with a few gaps on the smaller ones.
10Nailed it Anyone stepping in pulls up the client and finds what they need — the real decision-maker, the sensitivities, the preferences — current and usable, the way I’d know it myself.
System 3 · Operations & Delivery
not scored
11Monday’s work versus Friday’s work
The situation: Is there a defined way every job gets delivered — the same steps to the same standard — no matter who’s running it or how mad the week is?
For example: A job that runs on a calm Monday comes out clean. The same job on a packed Friday, different person at the wheel, everyone rushing, ships with steps missed and the client notices.
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0Chaos There’s no set way we deliver. Every job runs however the person doing it decides that day.
1Stuck with me When I run a job it’s right. When I don’t, steps get missed and I end up firefighting — it depends on me being on it.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two experienced people deliver to a good standard, but it’s in their heads, their own way. New people or a bad week and it breaks.
4–5Messy Experienced hands follow a roughly similar path out of habit, but it’s not written down, so it’s inconsistent.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve a defined delivery process written down, but people don’t follow it consistently, especially under pressure.
8–9Mostly there Most jobs run the same defined way, with the odd step skipped when it gets busy.
10Nailed it Every job runs the same defined sequence to the same standard, so nothing gets missed even on a mad Friday, whoever’s at the wheel.
12The check that only happens in your head
The situation: Before work leaves the building, is there a real quality check anyone can run, or is the last line of defence you personally looking it over?
For example: You glance over a job and instantly catch the three things wrong, because you’ve got the eye for it that nobody else has yet. But when you don’t look, it ships with the mistakes still in it.
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0Chaos There’s no consistent check before work ships. Problems get caught by the client, not by us.
1Stuck with me Work’s right because I eyeball it before it goes. If I don’t, we find out the hard way — the check is me.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two senior people can spot what’s wrong before it ships, but it’s their eye and their judgement, not a check anyone could run.
4–5Messy People give work a once-over their own way, but there’s no shared checklist, so what gets checked depends who’s checking.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve a proper pre-handover checklist written down, but it isn’t always run.
8–9Mostly there The checklist gets run on most jobs, with the odd one going out unchecked when things are tight.
10Nailed it The check that used to live in my head is a real checklist anyone runs the same way, so a junior catches what experience would.
13Who do we call for this?
The situation: When the team needs a supplier or subcontractor, do they know who to call — the reliable ones, the rates, the watch-outs — or does every decision come back to you?
For example: A job needs a specialist supplier by tomorrow. The team doesn’t know who’s reliable, who owes you a favour, what the going rate is, or who let you down last time. So it lands back with you, because you’re the only one who knows who to call and why.
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0Chaos Nobody knows who to call for what. Every job reinvents it, and we lose the good rates and the good contacts.
1Stuck with me It all runs through me. The contacts, the rates, the history — they’re in my phone and my head.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two people hold the supplier know-how, but it’s in their heads. Lose them and we’re back to square one.
4–5Messy People have their own contacts and muddle through, but there’s no shared list, so it’s inconsistent and we miss the best options.
6–7Written, not followed There’s a supplier list written down, but it’s out of date and people don’t really use it.
8–9Mostly there There’s a preferred supplier list with rates and notes that’s mostly current and used, with a few gaps.
10Nailed it Who to call, the negotiated rates and the watch-outs are all documented, so anyone can sort a supplier without it coming back to me.
14The tricks that leave with you
The situation: Have your people’s hard-won tricks and know-how been written down so anyone can use them, or would it all leave the day they do?
For example: Over the years your best people have worked out the little tricks that keep the work smooth and out of trouble. None of it’s written down. When one of them leaves, that experience walks out and the next person learns it the hard way.
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0Chaos The tricks that keep the work smooth aren’t captured anywhere. Every problem gets solved from scratch, again and again.
1Stuck with me The know-how that keeps jobs out of trouble is mostly mine, built up over years and never written down.
2–3Hostage to a key person A couple of experienced people hold the real know-how, but it’s in their heads. The day they leave, it leaves too.
4–5Messy Tips get passed around informally when people work together, but nothing’s captured, so it’s pot luck who knows what.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve started writing the important shortcuts down, but they’re incomplete and people don’t really refer to them.
8–9Mostly there The shortcuts that matter most are documented and new people are pointed to them, with gaps still being filled.
10Nailed it The tricks that save real time and prevent real problems are written down and used, so experience transfers instead of walking out.
15Nothing ships without your yes
The situation: Can the work progress and go out the door without waiting for your personal approval, or are you the bottleneck everything stacks up behind?
For example: A job’s finished and ready, but it can’t move until you’ve signed it off. You’re in meetings all day, so it sits there. By the time you look, the client’s been kept waiting for something that was done hours ago.
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0Chaos Work ships with no check and no clear authority at all. Whether the right things get sign-off is pure chance.
1Stuck with me Nothing significant leaves without my yes. It all stacks up behind me, and when I’m busy, everything waits.
2–3Hostage to a key person I’ve handed sign-off to one or two trusted people, but they go on judgement and still funnel the big calls to me.
4–5Messy There’s a rough sense of what can go without me and what can’t, but it’s unwritten, so people either over-check or wing it.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve written down what needs approval and what doesn’t, but people don’t stick to it, so I still get pulled in.
8–9Mostly there Most work flows without me, with clear authority limits, and only genuinely big or unusual calls come up to me.
10Nailed it Routine work ships without me every time, because everyone knows exactly where the line is. Only true exceptions reach me — and that’s by design.
System 4 · Financial
not scored
16The numbers you feel but can’t show
The situation: Can your leadership team see the real financial picture each month — the numbers, the trends, what’s coming and where the risks are — or is the meaningful read locked in your head?
For example: Someone asks the simple question: are we actually doing well, and what’s coming next quarter? You’ve a feel for the answer, but you couldn’t put the numbers, the trends and the risks on a screen, and neither could anyone else.
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0Chaos I run the finances off the bank balance and the monthly statement. There’s no real read on the numbers, the trends or what’s coming — we go on feel.
1Stuck with me The numbers exist, but I’m the only one who can actually read them — what they mean, where they’re heading, and what’s coming.
2–3In one person’s head One key person — a bookkeeper or finance manager — holds the real picture, but it’s in their head, not something the team can see.
4–5Messy The team sees some numbers — revenue, what’s in the bank — but not the full picture of margin, trends and risk, so decisions get made on the surface.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve built a proper set of numbers, but nobody consistently looks at it or acts on it, so a lot of decisions are still made on gut.
8–9Mostly there There’s a monthly dashboard — the real numbers, the KPIs, the trends and what’s coming — that the leadership team mostly reviews, with a few blind spots.
10Nailed it A live dashboard shows the whole picture — margin, KPIs, leading indicators, the cash coming in, the risks building — so the whole team can see the truth and make sound decisions, not just me.
17Tight month, no warning
The situation: Does the business see a cash squeeze coming weeks ahead from a proper forecast, or does it depend on you doing the sums in your head?
For example: A big tax bill, a client paying late and a quiet month all land together. You saw it coming three weeks out because you carry the cash position in your head. If you hadn’t, the first anyone would’ve known is a payment bouncing.
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0Chaos Nobody’s projecting cash. A tight month arrives as a nasty surprise.
1Stuck with me I can feel when it’ll be tight because I run it in my head. No one else sees it coming.
2–3In one person’s head One person keeps a cash view, but it’s their own spreadsheet in their head — if they’re off, the visibility goes with them.
4–5Messy We know what happened last month, but there’s no real forward projection, so it’s backward-looking and patchy.
6–7Written, not followed There’s a cash flow forecast set up, but it isn’t kept current, so it can’t really be trusted.
8–9Mostly there There’s a forward cash forecast that’s mostly maintained, giving a few weeks’ warning, with the odd surprise.
10Nailed it Cash is projected months ahead from the pipeline and payment patterns, so a squeeze is visible to everyone who needs it, not just me.
18The big client that’s quietly bleeding you
The situation: Can anyone see which clients are genuinely profitable once the real cost of serving them is counted, or does big revenue hide the ones bleeding you dry?
For example: Your biggest client by revenue, the one everyone’s proud of, is quietly losing you money once you count the revisions, the hand-holding and the overruns. You half-suspect it, but nothing on paper shows it.
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0Chaos We go by revenue. Whether a client’s actually profitable once you count the real cost is pure guesswork.
1Stuck with me I’ve a gut feel for which clients cost more than they’re worth, but I couldn’t prove it and nobody else sees it.
2–3In one person’s head One person could work out client profitability if asked, but it’s a one-off in their head, not something the business tracks.
4–5Messy Someone looks at client profitability now and then, but it’s inconsistent and not really trusted or acted on.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve set up client profitability tracking, but it isn’t kept up or used to make decisions.
8–9Mostly there Client profitability is tracked and the leadership team mostly uses it, with some clients still not properly costed.
10Nailed it Real client profitability is visible, so the high-revenue, low-margin client shows up clearly and we act on it.
19The instinct nobody else has
The situation: Are the early warning signs you’ve learned to spot built into your reporting and measures so anyone can catch them, or do they only get noticed when you happen to see them yourself?
For example: You can feel when a job’s heading over budget or a number looks wrong, weeks before it becomes a problem. You’ve seen it enough times to know. But that early warning is all in your gut, and the day you step back it goes with you.
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0Chaos Nobody’s watching for financial trouble. Problems get spotted once they’ve already cost us.
1Stuck with me My sense for when something’s about to go wrong with the money is pure gut. None of it’s written down or shared.
2–3Hostage to a key person I’ve passed some of my instincts to one or two people, but it’s informal and lives with them, not in the numbers.
4–5Messy A few of my rules of thumb float around the team, but nothing’s defined, so people half-follow them.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve turned some of my judgement into metrics and thresholds, but people don’t really watch them.
8–9Mostly there The key warning signs are built into our reports and mostly watched, with a few still living only in my head.
10Nailed it The early warning signs I’ve learned to spot are built into our reporting and measures, so anyone can catch them before they cost us.
20The mistake nobody would catch
The situation: Would money slipping out the door get caught by someone other than you, or would it sail through unless you happened to spot it?
For example: A supplier invoices you twice for the same delivery. A client pays a few hundred short. A subscription you cancelled months ago is still going out. Would anyone notice besides you?
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0Chaos Nobody’s really checking the detail. Errors and leaks sail straight through until they become a real problem.
1Stuck with me I’m the only one who ever scrutinises the numbers closely enough to catch a mistake. If I’m not looking, it slips.
2–3Hostage to a key person One person keeps an eye on the financial detail, but it’s their own habit and judgement, not a proper control the business owns.
4–5Messy A few people glance at things their own way, but there’s no agreed check, so what gets caught is inconsistent.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve set up checks and reconciliations, but they’re not run consistently, so things still slip.
8–9Mostly there The checks mostly get run and catch most errors, with the odd one still getting through.
10Nailed it Proper checks and reconciliations run as a matter of course, so mistakes and leaks get caught whether I’m looking or not.
System 5 · People & Management
not scored
21Hire and hope
The situation: Is there a defined standard for what a good hire looks like that someone else could recruit against, or does it come down to your gut in the interview?
For example: You need someone quickly, meet a few, one feels right in the room, and you make the offer on gut. Three months later it’s not working, and you couldn’t quite say what you should have screened for.
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0Chaos We hire on gut and a good chat. Whether it works out is largely luck.
1Stuck with me I can tell a good hire when I meet one, but that judgement’s mine and doesn’t leave the room.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two managers I trust can spot a good hire, but it’s their instinct, not a standard the business could recruit against.
4–5Messy We’ve a loose idea of what we want, but no defined criteria or process, so every hire is judged differently.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve written hiring criteria and a process, but people don’t really use them when it comes to it.
8–9Mostly there There’s a hiring scorecard and process used for most roles, with some hires still done on feel.
10Nailed it Specific criteria and an interview that tests what matters mean a good hire doesn’t depend on me being in the room.
22Shadow Dave
The situation: When someone joins, is there a real onboarding plan that gets them productive and clear on what’s expected, or is it sink or swim next to whoever’s free?
For example: A new starter’s first day: you sit them next to Dave and say shadow him for a bit. No plan for week one, no thirty-sixty-ninety, no picture of what good looks like by when. How fast they’re useful is pure luck.
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0Chaos New starters are thrown in and left to pick it up. How fast they’re useful is hit and miss.
1Stuck with me When I personally bring someone in they land well. Hand it off and it falls apart — it depends on me.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two people onboard new starters well, but it’s their own way of doing it, not a plan the business owns.
4–5Messy We sit new people next to an experienced hand, but there’s no structure to what they learn or when.
6–7Written, not followed There’s a proper onboarding plan written down, but it slips whenever we’re busy.
8–9Mostly there Most new starters go through a real onboarding plan, with the odd one left to shadow when things are hectic.
10Nailed it Every joiner goes through a defined plan and knows how we work, what they own and what good looks like, without me running it.
23Nobody’s quite sure what good looks like
The situation: Is everyone clear on what they’re accountable for and how they’re measured, so they can be held to account against a written standard, or does it all live in your head and only surface when something goes wrong?
For example: Ask three of your people what they’re accountable for and how they’re measured, and you’ll get three different answers, none quite matching yours. It’s loosely understood, in your head, and it surfaces once a year at review, if that.
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0Chaos People aren’t really clear what they’re accountable for or how they’re judged. It’s all unspoken.
1Stuck with me Expectations are clear when I set them personally, but there’s nothing written down they could point to without me.
2–3In a manager’s head A couple of managers set clear expectations for their own people, but it’s their own standard, held in their heads, not the business’s.
4–5Messy There’s a loose sense of who owns what, but no defined accountabilities or measures, so ‘good’ is subjective.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve written down roles and measures, but they’re not really used, so people aren’t actually held to them.
8–9Mostly there Most roles have clear, written accountabilities and measures that are mostly used, with check-ins that sometimes slip.
10Nailed it Every person knows exactly what they own and how good is measured, and they’re held to account against it as a matter of course.
24The conversation only you’ll have
The situation: Can your managers handle the difficult conversations and hold their people to account themselves, or does every real performance issue wait for you?
For example: Someone’s been coasting for months. Everyone can see it, it drags on the others, and nothing happens, because the only person who’ll actually sit them down and have the hard conversation is you.
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0Chaos Poor performance mostly goes unaddressed. It festers because nobody really tackles it.
1Stuck with me The hard conversations only happen when I have them. If I don’t step in, the problem just drags on.
2–3Hostage to a key person One or two managers will tackle a performance issue, but it’s down to their own backbone, not something expected across the board.
4–5Messy Some managers handle it, some avoid it, so whether an issue gets dealt with depends who the person reports to.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve a process for managing performance, but managers don’t really follow it, so it still lands on me.
8–9Mostly there Most managers handle their own difficult conversations, with the toughest ones still coming to me.
10Nailed it Managers hold their own people to account and handle the hard conversations themselves. Performance issues get dealt with without waiting for me.
25What makes your people tick
The situation: Is what makes each person tick — what drives them, what frustrates them, who’s ready for more — shared with the managers who need it, or does it live only with you?
For example: You know one person’s driven by recognition and wilts under public criticism, another wants a path into management, a third’s quietly carrying something at home. It shapes how you handle each of them. Your other managers know none of it.
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0Chaos How to get the best out of each person isn’t really understood by anyone. People are managed generically.
1Stuck with me Only I really get what makes each person tick. My managers are working blind.
2–3Hostage to a key person A couple of managers know their own people well, but it’s in their heads — it doesn’t transfer if they move on.
4–5Messy We talk about people informally, but there’s no shared understanding managers can rely on, so it’s patchy.
6–7Written, not followed We’ve started capturing what drives each person, but it’s incomplete and managers don’t really use it.
8–9Mostly there Most managers understand what makes their people tick and it’s mostly shared, with some still held only by me.
10Nailed it What drives and frustrates each person, and who’s ready for more, is understood by the managers who need it, not just me.
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Your results
— / 10 averagenot scored
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Average by system (out of 10)
See your detailed breakdown—
Everything you scored 5 or below leans on you or one key person rather than a system, start here. The 6–7s are written down but not yet sticking.
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The Critical Systems Scorecard · Sophiall · Module 3, Lesson 4
