Some of our leadership team members are presenting customer and employee headlines that sound positive on the surface but actually mask major underlying operational issues, allowing them to bypass the IDS list entirely. How do we train the team to spot these Trojan horse headlines?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Some leaders are experts at wrapping a major operational problem in a shiny package of good news during the Headlines section. For example, they might say, "We secured a massive new contract with a client," while omitting that the client is demanding custom features that your delivery team cannot build. These are Trojan horse headlines that bypass the Issues List.

To stop this, the facilitator and the rest of the leadership team must be highly skeptical. When a headline is shared, listen closely for the underlying friction. If a headline has an operational dependency or a hidden bottleneck, immediately ask, "Does that need to be an issue?"

If the answer is yes, do not discuss it right then. Simply drop it onto the short-term Issues List and move on.

Train your team to understand that identifying an issue is not a sign of failure; it is a sign of operational strength. Real, lasting trust is built when we bring problems into the light. If a leader tries to hide an issue inside a headline to protect their department, they are violating the open and honest culture required to scale your business.