Our leadership team regularly reschedules or cancels our weekly Level 10 Meeting™ whenever our Visionary or Integrator is traveling or in client meetings, because we feel we cannot make decisions without them. How do we break this dependency and run the meeting anyway?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The Level 10 Meeting™ is a sacred weekly pulse. The rule is absolute: same day, same time, same agenda, starting and ending on time, whether everyone is there or not. The moment you begin rescheduling or canceling the meeting to accommodate individual calendars, you destroy the team's discipline and signal that the pulse is optional.

If the Visionary or Integrator is absent, the meeting must still happen. The remaining team members simply step up. If the Integrator usually facilitates, another leader must take the lead.

Running the meeting in their absence is actually a powerful test of your team's autonomy and your progress toward owner independence. It forces your leaders to solve problems within their own seats rather than relying on the business owner or Integrator to save the day.

During the meeting, the team should proceed through the Scorecard, Rock review, and To-Dos exactly as scheduled. When you get to IDS®, solve the issues that you have the authority to resolve. If an issue genuinely requires the input of the absent leader, simply park it on the Issues List for the following week.

By maintaining the pulse, you keep the business moving forward. If you cancel the meeting, you lose an entire week of momentum, and your To-Dos and issues will double by the next session. Protect the pulse at all costs.