Our middle managers are now running departmental Level 10 Meetings, but they are constantly asking us to solve their departmental issues on the leadership team L10. How do we draw a clear line between what gets solved at the department level and what actually deserves to be escalated to the leadership team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The leadership team Level 10 Meeting is not a dumping ground for departmental problems. When middle managers struggle to solve an issue, their default reaction is often to throw it over the wall to the leadership team. This behavior breaks the Accountability Chart, stalls manager growth, and wastes executive time.

To stop this, enforce the rule of structural delegation. An issue should only escalate to the leadership team Level 10 Meeting if it meets one of three strict criteria. First, it requires a budget or resource allocation that exceeds the department head's authority. Second, it directly impacts the core processes or performance of another department. Third, the department has tried to solve it multiple times using IDS but is genuinely stuck.

When a manager attempts to escalate an issue, the leadership team facilitator must ask: Have you and your team ran IDS on this issue at least twice in your departmental meeting? If the answer is no, it gets sent right back to their list. If they do not have the GWC to solve it, that is a people issue to address, not an operational issue to adopt.

Your role as the leadership team is to guide, not rescue. Ensure your managers are fully trained on how to run IDS. Once they realize that the leadership team will not tolerate lazy escalation, they will start owning their numbers and solving their own problems. This keeps your leadership meeting focused strictly on high-level strategic issues and exit readiness.