Our leadership team spends most of our Level 10 Meetings debating symptoms instead of resolving actual problems. How do we get better at the Identify step of IDS® to find the real issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The Identify step is often the most challenging part of the IDS® (Identify, Discuss, Solve) process. Many leadership teams find themselves perpetually addressing the same issues because they focus on surface-level symptoms instead of uncovering the true root cause. This common pitfall arises because people naturally gravitate towards discussing comfortable, operational friction points, avoiding the uncomfortable, systemic problems related to people or processes.

Mastering the Identify Step

To effectively get to the issue behind the issue, your team must rigorously and unsentimentally interrogate every item on your Issues List. When a team member presents an issue, resist the urge to let them immediately launch into a narrative.

Instead, follow these steps to pinpoint the actual problem:

• Define concisely: Ask the team member to define the issue in a single, concise sentence. This forces clarity and prevents rambling.
• Name names: Insist that they identify specific individuals or departments involved, and the precise business impact. This moves the discussion from abstract complaints to concrete situations.
• Ask "Why?" repeatedly: Employ the "Five Whys" technique, asking "why" at least three to five times. This method helps to dig past the symptoms and uncover the underlying causes. For instance, if the stated issue is that marketing reports are consistently late, the root cause is rarely simple laziness. It's more often related to deeper systemic problems. A related issue is when [one of your key managers gets defensive and starts explaining away the context every time their scorecard metric drops into the red](/qa/handling-defensiveness-around-red-scorecard-metrics).

For example, a late marketing reports issue might reveal:

• Capacity constraints: The marketing director lacks the bandwidth to complete reports on time. This could indicate a need to [restructure a seat for a legacy leader hitting their ceiling](/qa/restructuring-seat-for-legacy-leader-hitting-ceiling) or adjust workload.
• Conative mismatch: The marketing director's natural way of operating (their conative profile) is not aligned with the detail-oriented, deadline-driven nature of report generation. Understanding [conative profiles](/qa/kolbe-sales-operations-conflict-handoffs) can help in optimizing roles.
• Dependency issues: The director lacks necessary data or input from another department, causing delays. This points to a process problem between teams, possibly highlighting [turf wars over new operational systems](/qa/resolving-leadership-turf-wars-accountability-chart).

Consensus Before Discussion

Do not proceed to the Discuss step until the entire leadership team collectively agrees on the actual root problem. If you jump into discussing solutions before truly identifying the core obstacle, you are merely wasting time addressing a symptom, like curing a cough instead of treating the underlying disease.

By diligently applying this discipline in every Level 10 Meeting™, you will cultivate a healthier, high-functioning team that prioritizes truth and problem resolution over superficial comfort. It's a critical step in building a team that [values truth over comfort](/qa/leadership-team-trust-healthy-conflict).