During IDS®, our team members often defer to my opinion because I am the owner, which keeps us at a low level of leadership influence. How do we transition our Level 10 Meeting™ decision-making so the team solves issues without looking to me for permission?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your leadership team constantly looks to you for permission during the IDS portion of your Level 10 Meeting, you are stuck at a low level of leadership influence. True leadership is about producing results through others, not making every decision yourself.

To break this dependency, you must practice deliberate silence. When an issue is raised, do not be the first to speak. Even if you have the perfect solution, let your team struggle with the problem first. Let them discuss the options, debate the merits, and propose their own path forward.

If the team turns to you and asks what you want to do, redirect the question. Ask them: If I were not in the room, what decision would you make? Force them to defend their logic based on your company Core Focus and V/TO goals.

Your job during IDS is to coach, not to rescue. If they suggest a solution that is seventy percent as good as yours, let them run with it. The ownership they build by executing their own solution is far more valuable than the marginal gain of your perfect plan. This is how you transition from a positional leader to one who develops others.