Our leadership team has fallen into a lazy habit of rating every Level 10 Meeting an eight or nine out of ten, even when we fail to solve our top issues or hit our to-do targets. How do we break this grade inflation and get honest feedback?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A default high rating is a sign of artificial harmony and meeting fatigue. When leaders routinely throw out an eight or nine without thinking, they are checking a box so they can leave the room. To break this habit, you must redefine what a high rating actually means. A true Level 10 Meeting requires three things: we started and ended on time, we achieved a ninety percent to-do completion rate, and we solved our most critical issues permanently using IDS. If you failed to hit your to-do target, the meeting cannot be rated an eight or nine. The facilitator must hold the line on this discipline. When a team member rates the meeting an eight, ask them what it would have taken to make it a ten. If they say everything was fine but the data shows key Rocks are off track and went unaddressed, challenge them. Encourage the team to be vulnerably honest. Remind them that rating the meeting a seven is not an attack on the facilitator, it is an honest assessment of the team's collective focus. If you are preparing your company for a clean exit, you cannot afford to tolerate mediocre meetings masked by polite scores. Demand real ratings to drive real operational execution.