Our weekly Level 10 Meeting is entirely virtual because our leadership team is fully remote, but we are plagued by people turning off their cameras, zoning out, or secretly answering emails during the 90 minutes. How do we enforce high engagement in a fully virtual L10?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Virtual fatigue is real, but multi-tasking during your Level 10 Meeting™ is an operational leak that you cannot afford, especially if you are grooming the company for an eventual clean exit. The ninety minutes must be treated with the same sanctity as a physical boardroom.

First, establish a strict virtual meeting covenant. Cameras must remain on at all times; no exceptions. If someone needs to turn their camera off to handle a brief personal emergency, they must drop a note in the chat and return as soon as possible.

Second, eliminate the temptation to multi-task by enforcing a no-screens policy for other apps. The only screen open should be the meeting portal where your Scorecard, Rocks, and Issues List are displayed. Close email clients, Slack, and browser tabs before the timer starts.

Third, keep the pace fast. The facilitator must actively call on people and rotate ownership of different sections. For example, have different leaders read the scorecard or run through the Rock review.

Finally, hold people accountable during the meeting rating at the end. If someone was clearly distracted, the team must rate the meeting lower and openly state that distraction was the cause. Make it uncomfortable to check out. High-performing virtual teams stay focused because they respect each other's time and hold the line on discipline.