We have a couple of leaders who are highly active when discussing their own departments during IDS, but they check out completely and stay silent when we are solving issues for other seats on the Accountability Chart. How do we break this stay in my lane mindset during our Level 10 Meetings?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When leaders sit in their silos and only speak up during IDS® when an issue directly touches their department, they are acting as managers of their departments, not as owners of the business. On a true leadership team, every member must wear their enterprise hat first and their departmental hat second. If a leader remains silent because they believe a problem is outside their domain, they are failing to leverage their seat on the Accountability Chart to drive the whole company forward.

To break this stay in my lane mindset, the facilitator must actively draw out these passive observers. Start by asking them direct, perspective-based questions during IDS®. For example, you can say: As our head of operations, what risk do you see if we implement the sales solution we are debating? This forces them to look at the business holistically and breaks the unspoken agreement that leaders should not interfere in each other's territories.

You must also reinforce that solving issues is a team sport. If a leader sits silently through three consecutive meetings without contributing to problems outside their functional area, it is time for a direct conversation outside the meeting. Challenge them on whether they truly have the capacity and desire, or GWC™, to help lead the entire company or if they are simply defending their own territory.