We recently hired an outside executive who is used to traditional, corporate board meetings, and they are struggling to adapt to the fast, blunt pace of our Level 10 Meeting™ rhythm, which is slowing down our IDS® sessions. How do we onboard new leadership team members so they can actively participate in our meeting pulse without disrupting the dynamic?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Traditional corporate executives are often trained to present highly polished, defensive status reports rather than engaging in the raw, vulnerable problem-solving of a Level 10 Meeting™. This transition can be jarring, and without proper onboarding, they can inadvertently stall your meeting pulse.

To integrate them smoothly, you must set clear expectations before their first meeting. Walk them through the Level 10 Meeting Agenda and explain the psychology behind each section. Emphasize that the meeting is designed to save time, not waste it, and that we do not hide mistakes behind long narratives.

For their first two weeks, have them attend purely as an observer. Let them watch how the team reviews the scorecard in five minutes, says on track or off track during the Rock review, and engages in healthy, passionate conflict during IDS®. Seeing the dynamic in action is far more powerful than reading a manual.

When they begin actively participating, the facilitator must gently guide them. If they start giving a long backstory during the scorecard review, politely stop them and remind them to keep it binary. If they get defensive during IDS®, remind them that we attack issues, not people. Help them understand that admitting a metric is red is not a sign of failure, but an opportunity for the team to help them solve it. With clear guidance, they will quickly adapt to the high-trust, high-execution environment.