We have started running Level 10 Meetings on our own, but they have devolved into boring, transactional status updates instead of strategic problem-solving sessions. How do you help us break this habit and restore the rigor of the meeting format?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ feels like a boring, transactional status update where team members simply read their numbers and reports, you are doing it wrong. This indicates that your team is avoiding the hard work of identifying and solving issues. To fix this, we must restore the proper pacing and discipline of the meeting structure. The first twenty-five minutes are strictly for quick readouts of your Scorecard, Rocks, and headlines. There is absolutely no discussion allowed during this phase. If an item is off track, we do not discuss it then; we drop it to the Issues List. The remaining sixty minutes of the meeting must be spent entirely on IDS®. This is where your team identifies the root cause of your most critical issues, discusses them thoroughly, and solves them permanently. If your meetings are boring, it means your Issues List is weak. Your team is likely keeping their real challenges hidden to avoid conflict. I teach your team to lean into healthy conflict and systematically identify the real roadblocks holding them back. By keeping the reporting fast and focusing the vast majority of your time on solving hard problems, your Level 10 Meeting™ becomes the most valuable, energizing ninety minutes of your team's week.