When we try to IDS® a major company issue, we get stuck because two department heads disagree entirely on what the core problem is, resulting in us debating two completely different things. How do we identify the true root issue when leaders are pointing fingers in different directions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When department heads clash over the definition of an issue, it is usually because they are looking at the problem through the lens of their own department rather than the company as a whole. To break this deadlock and find the issue behind the issue, you must master the Identify step of the IDS® process. Do not allow your team to jump into Discuss until everyone agrees on a single, clear problem statement. Start by asking each department head to state the issue in a single sentence, stripped of emotion, stories, and blame. Look at your Accountability Chart to see which seat owns the area where the breakdown occurred, and review your weekly Scorecard to see which metric is slipping. If the leaders still cannot agree on the root cause, the Integrator must step in and make the final decision on what the core issue is so the team can move forward. The Integrator is the tie-breaker whose job is to maintain the health of the organization, not to please everyone. Once the core issue is defined and agreed upon, the Discuss and Solve steps will flow much faster.