During the IDS® portion of our Level 10 Meeting™, our department heads only participate when an issue directly impacts their own seat, sitting in complete silence while other departments solve their problems. How do we break this departmental siloing and force everyone to engage as a unified leadership team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your department heads are not just functional managers; they are members of the leadership team first and department leaders second. When they sit in silence during issues that do not directly affect their seats, they are operating in silos. This behavior slows down problem-solving and prevents your team from achieving true organizational alignment.

To break this habit, the facilitator must actively pull these silent leaders into the conversation. During the discussion phase of IDS®, ask them directly for their perspective. You can ask, 'as our head of finance, how does this customer service issue look from your seat, or what patterns do you see here?' This forces them to think holistically about the business.

Additionally, remind the team of the Same Page commitment in your company Charter. Every leader is collectively responsible for the health of the entire organization, not just their individual department. If an issue is on the list, it is a leadership team issue.

Over time, this practice will build their confidence to speak up outside their areas of expertise. If a leader continues to stay silent and refuses to contribute to the broader business discussions, you must address this offline as a GWC™ issue. A leader who only cares about their own department does not have the capacity or desire to sit on a high-performing leadership team.