During our Level 10 Meetings, several leaders keep their laptops open under the guise of taking notes or looking up data, but they are clearly answering Slack messages and checking email during IDS. How do we eliminate digital distractions and enforce total presence in the room?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Multi-tasking in a Level 10 Meeting is a direct violation of team accountability and an absolute traction killer. When a department head is responding to client emails or monitoring internal Slack channels during IDS, they are withholding their brainpower from solving the business toughest structural problems.

To kill this waste immediately, institute a strict one-screen policy for the meeting:

- Designate one person as the scribe. Only the designated scribe and the meeting facilitator should have open laptops to manage the digital Scorecard, capture To-Dos, and manage the Issues List.
- All other screens close. Laptops shut, tablets put away, and smartphones placed face-down on silent or left outside the room. If someone needs to check a data point for a Scorecard question, they open their laptop, retrieve the number, and close it immediately.
- Enforce the rule unconditionally. The Integrator must call out the first screen that stays open. If a leader says they need their phone for an active operational emergency, they must be excused from the room to handle it. You cannot be half-in and half-out.

If your team meets virtually, mandate cameras on, full-screen gallery view, and all chat notifications disabled. If leaders argue that their operational fires cannot wait ninety minutes, you do not have a meeting problem; you have a delegation and Accountability Chart problem. Protecting the integrity of the room ensures that your most expensive talent spends ninety focused minutes solving issues permanently rather than passively attending a meeting while doing shallow administrative work.