A leader shares a negative employee or customer headline during the review but insists it does not need to go on the Issues List because they are already handling it. How do we draw the line between a headline that is just info and one that must be IDSed?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Every headline shared in your Level 10 Meeting™ must be a pure broadcast, meaning it is either good news or bad news that requires zero immediate action from the rest of the team. When a leader shares a negative headline, such as a major client threatening to leave, and says they have it handled, they are bypassing the collective wisdom of the leadership team. To draw a hard line, use this rule: if a headline has a material impact on another department, affects a company Rock, or threatens a scorecard metric, it must go on the Issues List. It does not matter if the department head has a plan. By keeping it off the Issues List, you are operating in a silo. The team cannot support what they do not officially track. During the headlines portion of the Level 10 Meeting™, the facilitator must actively listen for these hidden issues. If a headline reveals a systemic vulnerability or requires cross-functional coordination, the facilitator must drop it to the Issues List immediately without discussion. Do not ask permission. Simply say, That is a headline, and it belongs on the Issues List. This keeps your headlines segment under five minutes and ensures that potential landmines are exposed. Resolving the issue during the IDS® portion of the meeting allows the team to validate the leader's plan, identify blind spots, and ensure alignment across all seats.