My leadership team members are highly focused on their own departments, but they show zero interest in the challenges of other departments. During our Level 10 Meetings, they tune out unless their own seat is being discussed. How do I build a true leadership team that prioritizes the whole company over their individual silos?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This siloed behavior is a common failure point for growing companies. Your department heads are operating as a collection of individual champions rather than a cohesive leadership team. When they tune out during Level 10 Meetings, they are practicing passive disengagement, which prevents you from solving cross-functional issues and stalls your company's execution.

To break down these silos, you must shift their focus from their individual departments to the greater good of the business. Start by redefining what it means to sit on the leadership team. When they walk into the meeting room, they must leave their department hats at the door. Their primary responsibility at that table is to act as an executive officer of the entire company, not just the defender of their department's budget or staff.

Enforce active participation during the IDS portion of your Level 10 Meeting. When an issue is raised, do not let the discussion remain solely between the affected department head and the Integrator. Actively draw other leaders into the conversation. Ask your VP of Finance how an operational delay affects cash flow, or ask your VP of Sales how a customer service bottleneck impacts customer retention.

Additionally, review your Scorecard. Ensure that the metrics are interconnected, showing how a failure in one department directly impacts another. When your leaders realize that their individual success is completely dependent on the health of the entire system, they will stop tuning out and start collaborating to solve the root causes of your business challenges.