When rolling our Level 10 Meetings down to departmental teams, how do we prevent them from solving issues that actually belong on the leadership team's plate, or worse, making decisions that conflict with our V/TO?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

As you roll Level 10 Meetings down to your departments, alignment issues are common. Front-line teams often try to solve problems that they lack the authority or context to resolve, leading to decisions that violate your V/TO® or conflict with other departments. To prevent this, you must establish a clear boundary for issue ownership. Teach your managers the rule of local resolution: if an issue can be solved entirely within their departmental boundaries without spending unbudgeted cash, changing company policy, or impacting another team’s workflow, they should IDS® it locally. If the issue requires cross-departmental coordination, a budget adjustment, or a change to your core processes, it must be escalated. The departmental facilitator must capture the issue and pass it up to the leadership team’s Level 10 Meeting™ issues list. Furthermore, ensure that the departmental scorecard metrics and Rocks are directly tied to the company’s high-level goals. This structural alignment keeps their focus locked on their specific operational numbers. By drawing these clean lines, you empower your middle managers to own their daily execution while preserving the leadership team’s role as the guardians of strategic direction and exit readiness.