Our Integrator facilitates our Level 10 Meetings but is also responsible for many of the operational issues on the list. They struggle to facilitate objectively while being a participant in the debate. How do we handle this dual role?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a common bottleneck on leadership teams. When the Integrator tries to facilitate the meeting and actively debate issues at the same time, they often end up dominating the conversation or failing to keep the team on schedule. To solve this, the Integrator must learn to explicitly state which hat they are wearing. If they are facilitating, their job is to guide the team through the Level 10 Meeting agenda and manage the clock. If they need to participate deeply in an IDS discussion, they should verbally hand the facilitator hat to another leadership team member temporarily. For example, they can say: I have a strong perspective on this issue, so I am stepping out of the facilitator role for this topic. Someone else watch the clock. Even better, transition the facilitation role to another capable leader on the team permanently. There is no rule stating the Integrator must run the meeting. In fact, having a department head facilitate is an excellent way to build leadership capacity and demonstrate operational maturity to potential buyers when preparing for a clean exit. It frees up your Integrator to participate fully in problem-solving and keep the business moving forward.