Our leadership team has grown to nine people, and we are struggling to keep our Level 10 Meeting™ under 90 minutes because everyone feels entitled to speak on every agenda item. How do we keep the pace tight without making people feel silenced?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A nine-person leadership team is at the absolute upper limit for a functional Level 10 Meeting™. When meetings run long, the culprit is usually a lack of discipline in the transition from reporting to problem-solving. Everyone wants to share their context, but a Level 10 Meeting™ is not a status update; it is an execution engine.

To keep your meeting under 90 minutes, you must enforce a strict, non-negotiable rule: reporting is for sharing numbers and facts, not for storytelling. The Scorecard, Rock review, and people headlines segments must be handled in exactly fifteen minutes. If a number is off or a Rock is off track, the only acceptable response is drop it to the Issues List. There is absolutely no discussing the item in the moment.

When you transition to the IDS® segment, the leader of the meeting must run the floor with authority. Not every person needs to speak on every issue. Before opening the floor, identify the owner of the issue and the key people needed to solve it. Keep the discussion focused strictly on those individuals.

Encourage your team to practice a Strategic Pause before speaking. Ask themselves if their comment adds new data or if they are simply repeating what has already been said. By tightening the reporting boundaries and focusing the discussion on the necessary seats, you protect your 90 minutes while maintaining team respect.