Can we invite key department heads or middle managers to observe our quarterly sessions so they can learn the system and feel more connected to our strategy?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

No. Session days are strictly confidential, high-stakes working environments designed exclusively for your core leadership team. Introducing observers, even well-meaning middle managers, completely changes the dynamics of the room. It stifles honest debate, makes team members hesitant to discuss personnel issues, and dilutes the focus of the session.

To build a healthy, cohesive leadership team, you must have absolute trust and vulnerability. This is impossible to achieve when there is an audience in the room. The people sitting at the table must be the ones who are fully accountable for the major functions of the business as defined by your Accountability Chart.

If you want to groom your middle managers, the correct path is to have your leadership team roll out the EOS® tools to their respective departments. They should teach them how to run their own weekly meetings, set their own departmental Rocks, and use the tools. Your managers will learn far more by executing the system within their own teams than they ever would by sitting passively in the back of a high-level strategic session.