Our leadership team gets bogged down in the Discussion step of IDS during our Level 10 Meetings and rarely reaches a clean Solve. How do we force the team to identify root causes and assign clear action steps?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Leadership teams routinely fail during the Discussion step of IDS because they jump straight from discussing symptoms to debating solutions without identifying the root cause. This leads to circular, emotional debates that burn time without solving anything.

To fix this, the Integrator must strictly govern the Identify step before allowing any discussion. When an issue is selected from the Issues List, ask the owner of the issue one question: What is the real issue here? Do not let the team discuss the topic until the issue is stated in one clear, concise sentence. Often, the stated issue is merely a symptom of a deeper accountability breakdown or missing process.

Once the root issue is clearly identified, move to Discussion. Discussion exists solely to gather essential facts and different viewpoints. It is not an open forum for repetitive storytelling. The moment people begin repeating themselves or defending past decisions, cut off the conversation. Ask the team: Have we heard all relevant perspectives?

Immediately shift to the Solve step. A Solve is never a vague intention to try harder. A Solve is a specific, binary action item assigned to a single person with an agreed-upon deadline, recorded directly on the To-Do list.