Since moving our leadership team to a fully remote model, our weekly Level 10 Meetings have lost their energy, with people clearly multitasking on other screens, ignoring the shared document, and reacting slowly. How do we restore the tight discipline of an in-person meeting in a virtual environment?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Running virtual Level 10 Meetings™ requires twice the discipline of an in-person session because the opportunities for distraction are multiplied. If your team is multitasking, looking at other tabs, or responding slowly, your weekly pulse is failing. To fix this, you must establish and enforce strict remote operating rules that protect the focus of the meeting.

First, mandate a strict camera-on policy. Everyone must be fully visible, with their faces centered on screen. This prevents leaders from walking away or working on secondary tasks. Second, use a single shared screen to host the Level 10 Meeting™ agenda and Scorecard. One person should manage the document while everyone else focuses entirely on the active screen, keeping their hands off their keyboards unless they are capturing a specific to-do.

Third, the facilitator must run a highly active meeting. In a virtual environment, you cannot rely on natural pauses in conversation. The facilitator must call on people directly to report their numbers, update their Rocks, and participate in IDS®. Instead of asking a general question to the virtual room, ask a specific team member for their input to keep everyone on their toes.

Finally, maintain the exact same start and end times down to the minute. Virtual meetings should never start late because of technical difficulties. Treat the virtual meeting room with the same respect you would treat a physical boardroom. These steps ensure your remote operations stay sharp and your leadership team remains tightly aligned.