We find ourselves identifying the same issues week after week in our Level 10 Meetings™, and our IDS® sessions are starting to feel like Groundhog Day. How do we break this cycle and get our team to solve issues permanently?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

- When your weekly IDS® sessions start to feel like Groundhog Day, it is usually a sign that your team is solving symptoms rather than root causes. Solving a symptom makes the problem go away for a week or two, but it will inevitably return under a different guise.

To break this cycle, you must discipline your team to spend more time in the Identify phase of IDS®. The biggest mistake teams make is jumping straight to proposing solutions before they have truly agreed on what the real issue is. When an issue is brought to the table, the leader who raised it should state it in one clear sentence.

Then, the team must dig deeper. Ask why the issue occurred, and continue asking why until you get to the structural or human root. Often, what looks like an operational error is actually a training issue, a lack of clear ownership on the Accountability Chart™, or a trust breakdown between team members.

Do not move to the Discuss phase until the entire team agrees on the root cause. Once the true issue is identified, the solution is usually obvious and permanent. By mastering this discipline, you ensure that issues are solved once and for all, freeing up your team's energy to focus on growth and exit preparation.