We spend our Level 10 Meeting time talking in circles about symptoms instead of solving the real problems. How do we use IDS to actually get to the issue behind the issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To get past the symptoms in your Level 10 Meeting™, you must enforce a strict boundary during the Identify step of IDS®. Most leadership teams jump straight into solving, which is the S in IDS®, before they actually know what the real issue is. The person who raised the issue must state it in one short sentence, focusing on the root cause rather than a long backstory.

Once the issue is stated, the facilitator must lead a round of deep questioning. Do not allow anyone to propose solutions yet. Instead, ask why the problem occurred, and then ask why to that answer. This root cause analysis exposes the real friction point, which is often a people conflict, a broken process, or a lack of clear accountability rather than the surface-level operational hiccup first reported.

Taking a strategic pause here is essential. Treat this pause as a moment of chosen cessation to step back, clear the noise, and look at the underlying system objectively. When you stop rushing to patch symptoms, you discover that what looked like five separate issues is actually just one system failure. Once the team agrees on the root issue, the Discuss and Solve steps become fast and decisive because you are fixing the actual engine rather than polishing the dented hood.