During the Identify step of IDS®, our leadership team frequently gets stuck in a loop of debating what the real problem actually is. How do we reach agreement on the root cause when different departments see completely different root causes?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your leadership team is split on what the actual issue is during the Identify step of IDS®, it is usually because people are looking at the problem through the lens of their own department rather than the business as a whole. To break this logjam, you must stop debating who is right and start looking at the friction points on your Accountability Chart. The root cause of almost every business issue can be traced back to a people issue, a process issue, or an accountability gap. When two leaders disagree on the root cause, the Integrator must step in and force a shift in perspective. Ask the team to state the issue in a single sentence that contains no emotion and focuses purely on facts. If the Sales leader says the issue is poor product quality and the Operations leader says the issue is unrealistic client expectations, the real issue is likely a lack of documented handoff standards. Do not move to the Discuss step until you have stripped away the personal defense mechanisms and defined the issue in a way that both parties agree represents a system failure, not a personal failure. If you cannot agree on the root cause within five minutes, table the issue, assign one owner to gather data, and bring it back to the next Level 10 Meeting™.