If you’re running a sales or GTM (go-to-market) team and want actual visibility into how your teams are stacking up, you’ve probably poked around Leveleleven’s leaderboard features. Maybe you’ve been promised culture change, motivation, and “gamification” magic. But let’s cut the noise: leaderboards only work if you set them up right, for the right goals, and—most importantly—if they’re actually tied to what your team cares about.
This guide is for GTM managers, ops folks, or anyone tasked with making their team’s performance visible (without drowning in dashboards or vague KPIs). I’ll walk you through setting up team-based leaderboards in Leveleleven, what to watch for, what to avoid, and how to keep it useful—not just another thing people ignore.
Why Team-Based Leaderboards, Anyway?
Before you jump in, be clear with yourself: leaderboards can motivate, but only if they’re fair, transparent, and focused on things that matter. Team-based boards are best when you want to rally squads against a common goal—think SDR pods, regional sales teams, or cross-functional GTM units.
Individual leaderboards can backfire (burnout, sandbagging, all that good stuff). Team-based ones shift the focus to collaboration and shared accountability. Just make sure the metric you’re tracking is truly a team effort.
Step 1: Get the Basics Set Up
1.1. Confirm You Have the Right Access
You’ll need admin or manager permissions in Leveleleven. If you’re not sure, check with your Salesforce or Leveleleven admin. You don’t want to get halfway through and realize you can’t actually create or edit leaderboards.
1.2. Map Out Your Teams
Before touching the tool, jot down how you want to split your teams. Are you grouping by region? Role? Book of business? Keep it simple—if you split too granularly, you’ll end up with empty or meaningless leaderboards.
Pro tip: Don’t mirror your org chart just because you can. Use groupings that matter for the goal you’re tracking.
Step 2: Define the GTM Goals to Track
Not everything makes sense for a leaderboard. Pick one or two metrics that are:
- Directly tied to GTM success (pipeline created, meetings booked, deals closed)
- Trackable in Salesforce (Leveleleven pulls from there, so if it’s not logged, it doesn’t count)
- Within the team’s control (avoid vanity metrics or things heavily influenced by outside teams)
What Works
- New opportunities created (per team, per week)
- Qualified meetings scheduled
- Closed-won revenue (but only if the cycle is short—otherwise it’s just a lagging indicator)
What Usually Flops
- Activities that are just check-the-box (calls made, emails sent—unless you’re trying to drive volume for a specific reason)
- Metrics with lots of manual data entry (people will game or ignore it)
Step 3: Set Up Teams in Leveleleven
3.1. Navigate to Team Management
- In Leveleleven’s dashboard, look for the “Teams” or “Groups” management section. The wording can vary depending on your version.
- Click “Create Team” or similar.
3.2. Build Your Teams
- Name each team clearly. “West Coast AEs” beats “Team 1.”
- Add users to each team. Double-check user assignments—people in two teams can mess up reporting.
- Save changes.
Watch out: If your Salesforce user data is messy (duplicates, wrong regions), fix that first. Leaderboards are only as good as your underlying data.
Step 4: Create Your Leaderboard
4.1. Set Up a New Leaderboard
- Go to the “Leaderboards” tab.
- Click “Create Leaderboard.”
4.2. Choose Leaderboard Type: Team vs. Individual
- Pick “Team” as the leaderboard type. (This is easy to miss—don’t just use the default “Individual”!)
- Select the teams you want to include. Don’t add every team “just in case”—irrelevant teams clutter things up.
4.3. Select the Metric
- Choose your GTM goal metric (e.g., Opportunities Created).
- Set the date range (weekly, monthly, or custom).
- Decide if you want cumulative totals or average per team member. If teams are different sizes, averages keep it fair.
Pro tip: If there’s wild variation in team size, always use averages. Otherwise, big teams will always win, and nobody learns anything.
4.4. Set Visibility
- Decide who can see the leaderboard (whole org, just managers, only the teams involved).
- Public leaderboards drive more engagement, but only if the data is accurate.
Step 5: Customize and Launch
5.1. Tweak the Display
- Pick a clear, no-nonsense name (“Q2 Pipeline Created by Team” beats “Spring Fling Scoreboard”).
- Add a description so everyone knows what’s being measured, how, and why.
- Set up notifications if you want to spotlight top teams each week—just don’t spam everyone.
5.2. Test It Out
- Preview the leaderboard. Make sure teams and numbers look right.
- Spot check a few records—are the right opportunities or meetings showing up?
- If something looks off, trace it back to your Salesforce data or team assignments.
5.3. Go Live
- Publish the leaderboard.
- Announce it to your teams—but skip the rah-rah speeches. A quick Slack or email with “Here’s how we’ll track progress—top team each month gets lunch” works fine.
Step 6: Keep It Useful
Leaderboards are only as good as the habits they reinforce. Here’s how to avoid common pitfalls:
- Don’t set and forget. Review the metrics monthly. If people stop caring, switch it up or kill the board.
- Spot check for gaming. If people start logging junk data just to win, clamp down early.
- Reward the right behavior. Recognition matters more than gift cards or swag. A shoutout in a team meeting goes further than you’d think.
- Ignore the “gamification” hype. Leaderboards won’t fix bad culture or broken processes. They just make the numbers visible.
What to Ignore
- Overly complex boards. If it takes a spreadsheet to explain, it’s too much.
- Too many metrics. One or two per board. More and people zone out.
- Leaderboards for the sake of leaderboards. If a goal isn’t a real priority, don’t bother making it visible.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
You don’t need to boil the ocean to get value from Leveleleven leaderboards. Build one, see what happens, and adjust. If people start gaming it or ignoring it, tweak the goal or the teams—or pull the plug. Real motivation comes from clear goals and fair competition, not from another dashboard.
Set up your first team-based leaderboard, keep it relevant, and let the results guide your next move. If it’s not helping your team, don’t be afraid to scrap it and try something else.