We occasionally invite frontline employees or subject matter experts into our weekly Level 10 Meeting™ to help us IDS® a specific technical issue, but their presence usually derails our timeline and disrupts our team dynamics. How do we bring in outside experts to solve an issue without breaking the strict flow of our meeting?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Bringing frontline employees or subject matter experts into your weekly meeting is a great way to get accurate data, but it can easily destroy the discipline of your Level 10 Meeting™ if not managed tightly. Outside guests do not know your meeting rhythm and will naturally try to turn their segment into a long, unstructured conversation.

To prevent this disruption, you must put strict parameters around their attendance. Never invite an outside guest to sit through the entire ninety-minute meeting. It is a waste of their time and creates an awkward dynamic during confidential discussions.

Instead, schedule them to join only for the specific IDS® item they are needed for. Place that issue at the top of your prioritized list so you can address it immediately when you transition to the IDS® portion of the meeting.

Before the guest enters, the facilitator must brief them on the rules: they are there to provide specific context, answer direct questions, and help solve one specific problem.

Once the issue is solved and the resulting To-Dos are assigned, thank the guest and have them leave the virtual or physical room. This allows your leadership team to immediately transition back to your regular agenda without losing momentum. By managing guest attendance with this level of discipline, you get the technical input you need while keeping your leadership pulse sacred and efficient.