How do we handle cross-departmental handoffs during our departmental Level 10 Meetings when the other department is not present in the room to defend their process?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your departmental Level 10 Meeting™ encounters an issue that crosses boundaries, the temptation is to solve it in a vacuum. This is a trap. Attempting to fix another department's process without their input leads to poor solutions and friction.

You have two practical paths to resolve this during IDS®.

First, identify the root cause and assign a weekly to-do to a member of your team. Their task is not to solve the entire issue alone, but to schedule a brief offline meeting with the accountability seat holder of the other department. They will co-create a proposal and bring it back to your team next week.

Second, if the issue is highly complex, invite the head of the other department as a guest to your next Level 10 Meeting™ specifically for the IDS® portion. Keep their visit highly focused. They should join, help solve the specific issue, and exit immediately so your team can finish the remaining agenda.

As a business owner preparing for a clean exit, you must ensure your teams respect the Accountability Chart. Solving problems behind another department's back creates operational silos. Teaching your middle managers to collaborate across departments using the IDS® framework builds a self-managing organization that does not require your daily mediation. Make cross-departmental communication a standard expectation for every leadership seat.