We have successfully run Level 10 Meetings™ at the leadership level, but now that our department heads are running their own departmental L10s, they are completely failing to facilitate IDS® and are just reading updates off their boards. How do we coach these managers to become self-sufficient facilitators?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When department heads struggle to facilitate, they default to what is comfortable, which is status-updating. They read the scorecard, check off the To-Dos, and then stare at the Issues List because they do not know how to lead a group through Identify, Discuss, and Solve.

To coach them into self-sufficient facilitators, you must provide active support without taking over their meetings. First, have them shadow the leadership team meeting with a specific focus on how the Integrator facilitates. Point out the techniques used to redirect tangents and force decisions.

Second, have an experienced leader sit in on their departmental meetings as an observer. Do not speak during the meeting unless the facilitator is completely stuck. Afterward, spend ten minutes giving direct feedback on their facilitation:
- Did they let people tell stories during the scorecard review?
- Did they identify the root cause of the issue before discussing it?
- Did they assign clear, single-ownership To-Dos?

Finally, provide them with a simple facilitation cheat sheet. Remind them that their job is not to have all the answers, but to ask the right questions and keep the team moving through the EOS® framework. With consistent coaching, they will build the confidence needed to run high-performing meetings.