Our leadership team to-do completion rate hovers around 70 percent because members treat tasks as rolling projects and mark them as in progress rather than done or not done. How do we eliminate this trap and reach 90 percent?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

In a Level 10 Meeting, there is no such thing as in progress. A To-Do is binary. It is either done or not done. The moment an Integrator permits someone to say it is halfway done or I started on it, accountability collapses across the entire team.

To-Dos are strictly seven-day action items. If a task cannot be finished in seven days, it was scoped incorrectly during IDS. The person taking the commitment took on a multi-step project instead of the very next physical action. When reviewing the To-Do List during the Level 10 Meeting, the Integrator must only accept done or not done. If it is not done, it stays on the list for one more week. If it is not done a second week in a row, it immediately drops to the Issues List to identify what is actually broken.

To break the habit permanently, implement three rules:

- Scope smaller actions: Force leaders during IDS to state the exact deliverable that can be produced within seven days, such as draft the first page or send the vendor RFP.
- Ban status commentary: During the To-Do review, team members are only allowed to say done or not done. Narrative explanations are cut off.
- Track the percentage visually: Keep the rolling completion percentage visible on your meeting dashboard. High-performing leadership teams consistently run at 90 percent or higher. When people see that a 70 percent score drags the entire team down, social accountability takes over.