Our leadership team members are exceptional at executing their own department-level Rocks, but they consistently drop the ball on our company-wide, cross-functional strategic goals. How do we restructure our quarterly goals and meeting dynamics to ensure shared ownership of our overall company success?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When leaders hit their department goals but fail to execute company-wide Rocks, you have a silo problem. Your team is thinking like department heads rather than owners of the entire business.

To break this habit, you must change how you assign and track your quarterly Rocks. Every company-wide Rock must have one, and only one, owner on the leadership team. This person is not responsible for doing all the work, but they are fully accountable for driving the project to completion.

During your weekly Level 10 Meetings™, the owner of the cross-functional Rock must report on its status. If the Rock is off track, it immediately goes to the Issues List to be IDSed by the entire team. This forces peer-to-peer problem-solving. The other leaders must offer resources, support, or ideas to help get the Rock back on track, because a failure of a company-grade Rock is a failure for the entire team.

Additionally, tie your leadership team's incentive structure to overall company performance and the completion of company-wide Rocks, rather than just individual department metrics. When their personal success is directly linked to the collective success of the business, they will quickly shift their focus from their departmental silos to the whole organization.