Our Level 10 Meeting™ metrics look fine, but we have a subset of weekly To-Dos that constantly roll over to the next week with excuses. How do we establish a culture of high To-Do discipline without turning our weekly meeting into an interrogation?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A healthy Level 10 Meeting™ requires a ninety percent completion rate on weekly To-Dos. When To-Dos consistently roll over, it is a sign of lack of alignment, poor scoping, or a lack of personal accountability.

To fix this pattern, establish clear rules for how To-Dos are created and managed.

First, ensure every To-Do is written with extreme clarity. A To-Do should start with an action verb and have a single owner. Instead of: website updates, the To-Do must be: draft copy for landing page and send to design.

Second, the owner of the To-Do must be the one to set the deadline. Do not assign tasks to people who are not in the room or force a deadline on someone without their commitment. If they say they can get it done by next week, they are making a promise to the team.

Third, hold people accountable during the weekly review. If a To-Do is not done, do not accept a story. Simply mark it as not done and ask if it needs to be dropped down to the Issues List for IDS®. This simple step removes the emotion and forces the leader to decide if they need help or if they simply failed to prioritize their work.