I am an owner currently forced to sit in four distinct seats because we are too lean to hire. I know this is bad, but how do I actually run my weekly Level 10 Meetings without talking to myself or confusing the rest of my leadership team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Sitting in four seats is a common reality for early stage founders, but you must maintain operational discipline during your Level 10 Meeting™ or you will create absolute chaos for your leadership team.

The secret is mental compartmentation. You must clearly state which hat you are wearing at any given moment. During the meeting, you are not the owner, you are the person accountable for that specific seat.

When reviewing the Scorecard, you must report on your sales metrics as the Head of Sales, not the visionary owner. If a metric is off track, you drop it to the Issues list and IDS® it just like any other department head would. When you are in the Integrator seat, you must hold yourself accountable for your administrative and operational roles. If your team sees you blending these roles or using your owner status to bypass accountability, they will check out.

To transition out of this, use your V/TO® to plan your delegation sequence. Identify which of the four seats is the biggest bottleneck to your growth or exit preparation. Typically, this is the Integrator or Head of Sales seat. Work with your leadership team to define the exact roles of that seat and begin looking for the right person to fill it.

Until then, you must be extremely disciplined about compartmentalizing your roles. Treat each seat as a separate job, hold yourself to the same high standards you expect from others, and run your meetings with strict structural boundaries.