One of our department heads consistently underperforms on their quarterly Rocks, but they defend themselves by pointing to their ninety-five percent weekly to-do completion rate in our Level 10 Meetings™. How do we address this disconnect?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your department head is busy, but they are not productive. High to-do completion paired with off-track Rocks is a classic sign of a leader who is prioritizing urgent, daily firefighting over the strategic, non-urgent work that actually moves the business forward.

Weekly to-dos keep the wheels turning, but Rocks are the priorities that drive your company's growth. In your weekly Level 10 Meeting™, when you review Rocks, the response is strictly on track or off track. There is no middle ground.

If a Rock is off track, it must immediately be dropped to the Issues List. During IDS®, do not let the leader hide behind their high to-do completion rate. You must address the root cause of why their Rock is stalling.

Ask the hard questions:
- Are they taking on too many minor weekly tasks to avoid doing the heavy lifting on their Rock?
- Are they failing to delegate lower-level tasks because they lack trust in their team?
- Do they have the capacity to manage the strategic initiatives expected of their seat?

Use your Accountability Chart to clarify their seat. If their seat requires strategic output, and they are spending all their time on administrative tasks, they are not meeting the GWC™ requirements. You may need to help them structure their week so they block out dedicated, uninterrupted time for Rock execution. Hitting ninety percent of weekly tasks does not excuse failing quarterly Rocks.