Our departmental Level 10 Meetings are running in silos, and our leadership team has no idea if middle managers are actually solving the right problems or just hiding them. How do we establish a clean cascading issues process between the leadership L10 and departmental L10s without micromanaging?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To break down departmental silos and ensure issues cascade correctly, you must rely on the structure of your Accountability Chart and a highly disciplined communication flow. Departmental Level 10 Meetings must not operate in a vacuum. When a departmental team identifies an issue they cannot solve, or an issue that impacts other departments, it must be cascaded up. This is not micromanagement; it is structured alignment.

First, the department head, who sits on the leadership team, is the bridge. If an issue is stuck or requires cross-functional resources, that leader must bring it to the leadership Level 10 Meeting Issues List. Conversely, when the leadership team makes a decision during IDS that affects a department, that leader is responsible for cascading the solution down to their departmental L10.

Second, enforce a strict rule for departmental Scorecards and Rocks. Every metric on a departmental Scorecard must roll up to and support a parent metric on the leadership Scorecard. If a department is consistently green but the leadership metric is red, you have a design flaw.

Finally, use your quarterly planning sessions to review departmental alignment. Use the V/TO to ensure every department understands how their weekly activities directly support the company's overall one-year plan. If you suspect managers are hiding problems, use the weekly meeting rating. If a department head rates their meeting a ten but their metrics are failing, you have a trust issue. Bring it back to Our Charter, which requires open and honest communication. If they cannot operate with trust, they do not belong in the seat.