I am trying to step out of the day-to-day operations to prepare for a clean exit, but my leadership team still waits for my input before voting on which issues to prioritize during our Level 10 Meeting™. How do I apply a leader-leader model to step back and force the team to own the prioritization of the Issues List?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your leadership team waits for your input or validation before prioritizing the Issues List during the Level 10 Meeting™, you are stuck in a positional leadership trap. This dependency prevents your team from developing their own operational problem-solving skills and significantly reduces the value of your business for a clean exit. To break this pattern, you must actively step back and implement a leader-leader model during the meeting. When it is time to prioritize the top three issues for IDS®, do not speak first. In fact, do not speak at all. Have the facilitator ask the team to vote on the three most critical issues that impact the business today. If they look to you for approval, redirect them by saying, 'You run your seats on the Accountability Chart. Which issues do you believe are stopping us from hitting our goals?' Let the team debate and select the priorities. Even if they choose issues that you would not have prioritized, allow them to execute their decision. This builds their decision-making muscle and instills absolute ownership. Your role as the owner is to observe their alignment and ensure they are utilizing your V/TO® as their strategic filter, not to make the decisions for them.