Our leadership team consistently rates our Level 10 Meeting™ a nine or ten, but we often walk out of the room with unresolved tension and critical tasks left undone. How do I get my team to rate the meeting honestly instead of just being polite?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your team is rating a mediocre meeting as a nine or ten, you have a trust problem or a clarity problem. Polite ratings are a form of artificial harmony that prevents your leadership team from improving.

To break this habit, you must establish clear criteria for what makes a Level 10 Meeting™ actually deserve a ten. A true Level 10 Meeting™ starts on time, ends on time, follows the agenda exactly, maintains a high level of energy, and achieves a ninety percent to-do completion rate. Most importantly, it must solve the most critical issues facing the business.

During the rating section at the end of the meeting, if anyone gives a rating below an eight, they must immediately state why. However, you should also challenge the high ratings. If the team only resolved one minor issue and missed three major to-dos, yet everyone rates the meeting a nine, the facilitator must step in.

Ask the team directly how a meeting with a low to-do completion rate and unsolved issues could possibly be a nine. Force them to defend their high ratings. When leaders realize they will be called out for giving lazy, polite ratings, they will start paying closer attention and rating the meeting honestly. This honesty is critical to keeping your meeting pulse sharp.