As we roll out Level 10 Meetings to our middle management, we notice our department heads are using their departmental meetings to lecture their staff rather than facilitating a healthy, open IDS session. How do we teach these managers to step back and let their teams drive the agenda?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When you cascade Level 10 Meetings down to your departments, middle managers often struggle with the transition from dictator to facilitator. They are used to running meetings where they lecture their team, hand out tasks, and demand status updates. This kills the open and honest culture required for a great Level 10 Meeting™. To fix this, you must train your managers on the art of facilitation. First, remind them that their role in the meeting is to guide the team through the agenda, not to dominate the conversation. In a great departmental meeting, the team members should be doing eighty percent of the talking during the IDS® portion. Second, teach managers to ask open questions rather than offering immediate solutions. When an employee raises an issue, the manager should ask the team "How do we solve this?" before sharing their own opinion. Third, hold managers accountable to the meeting rating. If their team members consistently rate the meeting low or stay silent, the manager is not facilitating effectively. Transitioning departmental meetings into highly collaborative, issue-solving sessions is key to building an independent business. It proves to potential buyers that your middle management layer can solve operational problems daily without relying on you or the leadership team.