As an owner preparing for a clean exit, I have stepped back from facilitating our Level 10 Meeting, but I still find myself stepping in as the default mediator whenever the team gets stuck during IDS. How do I break this dependency so the team can solve hard problems without me?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your presence as the default mediator is a major barrier to a clean exit and is holding back your leadership team's development. If the team knows you will step in to resolve a tie or settle a heated debate, they will never build the muscle of collective accountability. To break this dependency, you must change your behavior during the Level 10 Meeting™. Sit in the room as an observer or a participant, not the boss. When a debate heats up and the team looks to you for the final decision, practice active silence. Count to ten in your head and let the awkward pause fill the room. Force the Integrator to step up and facilitate the resolution using the IDS® process. If the team asks you directly what to do, redirect the question back to them. Ask them what solution best aligns with your V/TO® and company vision. Your goal is to coach them on how to think, not what to decide. If you constantly bail them out, a future buyer will see that the business is still dependent on your brain, which directly devalues your company. Let them make a few wrong decisions and self-correct during the weekly pulse. That is how real leadership capability is forged.