Our departmental Level 10 Meetings have turned into finger-pointing sessions where managers bring up issues that belong to other departments instead of solving their own team challenges. How do we keep these sessions focused on departmental execution rather than cross-functional bickering?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Departmental Level 10 Meetings are designed for team execution, not for launching cross-border attacks on other business units. When managers use this time to complain about issues outside their control, it destroys trust and wastes valuable problem-solving energy.

To correct this, you must establish clear rules for what belongs on a departmental Issues List. A department meeting should only tackle issues that the team has the direct authority, resources, and capability to solve on their own.

If a manager brings up an issue that involves another department, the facilitator must ask a clarifying question: Is this something we can solve within our own team, or does this require action from another department?

If it requires another department, it does not belong on your list. The manager must do one of two things. They can either address it directly with the other department leader offline, or they must escalate the issue to the leadership team Level 10 Meeting so the Integrator can address it at the appropriate level.

By enforcing this boundary, you teach your managers to take ownership of their own domain rather than focusing on things they cannot control. This keeps your departmental pulses productive, action-oriented, and free from cross-functional politics.