Our team is consistently hitting only seventy or eighty percent completion on our weekly to-dos, and it is stalling our operational momentum. What tactical adjustments can our facilitator make to the way we assign, scope, and track to-dos on our weekly list to push us over the ninety percent mark?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Falling below the ninety percent threshold is rarely a motivation problem. It is usually a scoping or clarity problem. To fix this, your facilitator must become highly disciplined in how to-dos are captured during the IDS® portion of your Level 10 Meeting™.

First, ensure every single to-do is a seven-day commitment. If a task is too large to be fully completed by the next weekly meeting, it is not a weekly to-do. It is a milestone or a project. The facilitator must force the owner to break the massive task down into a bite-sized, actionable next step that can realistically be completed within the week.

Second, write to-dos using clear, active verbs. Avoid vague phrases like: look into marketing options. Instead, write: email the vendor for three quotes.

Third, verify that the person assigned to the task has the capacity to complete it. Check their seat on the Accountability Chart. If they are already overloaded with quarterly Rocks, do not pile on more weekly tasks.

During the next meeting, when reviewing the previous week's to-dos, do not accept excuses. A task is either done or not done. If a leader consistently misses their commitments, run them through the GWC™ framework to determine if they actually have the capacity for their seat.