When we use IDS® during our Level 10 Meeting™, we end up solving surface-level symptoms instead of the root cause, leading to the same operational problems returning next month. How do we train our team to dig up the actual elephant in the room?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Polite deadlocks and surface-level solutions are the death of effective operations. When your team uses IDS to solve an issue, they often focus on the immediate symptom because it is easier than addressing the underlying friction. To find the issue behind the issue, the meeting leader must push past the first explanation. Start by asking what the real problem is at least three times. For example, if the reported issue is that marketing missed its lead goal, the root issue is rarely just bad copy. It might be a lack of clarity on the target market, a broken integration between systems, or a GWC issue with the seat owner. Look at your team's behavioral profiles to understand how they approach conflict. High Fact Finders may try to research the issue forever to avoid making a hard decision, while high Quickstarts might want to throw a random tool at it. Force the team to identify the specific seat on the Accountability Chart where the issue lives. Once the root cause is named, the discussion becomes brief, and the solution becomes permanent.