We have a leader who stays completely silent during the IDS portion of our Level 10 Meeting whenever the issues belong to other departments, claiming they do not want to step on toes. How do we force cross-functional ownership and break this siloed silence during our weekly pulse?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a leader sits on your leadership team, they must wear their leadership hat first and their departmental hat second. Staying silent because an issue belongs to another department is a failure of leadership. It perpetuates silos and deprives the company of valuable perspective.

The facilitator must actively break this silence during IDS. If a major issue is being discussed and a leader remains quiet, call on them directly. Ask them how this issue impacts their department, or ask for their outside perspective on the problem.

Remind your team that silence is passive agreement. If a decision is made during the Level 10 Meeting, every member of the leadership team is collectively responsible for its success. They cannot say they saw a flaw in the plan but chose not to speak up to avoid stepping on toes.

Frame cross-departmental collaboration as a requirement for GWC, which means getting it, wanting it, and having the capacity to do the job. A leader who only cares about their own department does not GWC their seat on the leadership team. Encourage healthy, respectful debate across all areas of the business. The best solutions often come from leaders who are not bogged down in the day-to-day details of the affected department.