We recently added three new operational managers and our Integrator wants to add all three to the leadership team Accountability Chart, which would expand our Level 10 Meeting to ten people. Where do we draw the boundary between leadership seats and departmental seats?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Expanding your leadership team to ten people will choke your company's execution. When a leadership team exceeds seven seats, healthy debate slows down, Level 10 Meetings become exhausting updates rather than vigorous issue-solving sessions, and open IDS® becomes nearly impossible because quiet leaders get drowned out.

The leadership-level Accountability Chart must represent only the primary business functions necessary to steer the entire organization. In most small to mid-sized businesses, this consists of five to seven seats: Visionary, Integrator, Sales and Marketing, Operations, and Finance. Occasionally, a separate Technology, People and Culture, or specialized Delivery seat is warranted depending on business complexity.

Frontline managers, such as a Warehouse Manager, Field Service Supervisor, or Lead Estimator, do not belong on the leadership team chart. They belong on departmental Accountability Charts nested under the Head of Operations. The Head of Operations is the sole seat accountable to the Integrator for running that entire operational division.

That Head of Operations must lead their own weekly departmental Level 10 Meeting™ with their subordinate managers. They bring the consolidated departmental scorecard, key Rocks, and urgent cross-departmental issues up to the leadership table. By keeping the leadership chart lean, you maintain high speed and strategic clarity, while giving your departmental managers an operational forum where they can solve tactical issues at their own level.