During our leadership offsites, one dominant, loud executive consistently hijacks the agenda and shuts down others during IDS, causing quieter team members to shut down entirely. How do we structure our offsites to prevent this and ensure every leader's voice is heard equally?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a single loud voice dominates your offsite, it destroys the health of the entire leadership team. Cracks at this level appear as canyons to the rest of the organization. To fix this, you must run your offsite using strict EOS guidelines and step in as a strong facilitator. Before the session starts, establish the ground rules. One of the most important rules is that everyone must be open and honest, and no one is allowed to dominate.

If a leader begins to monopolize the conversation during IDS, use the tangent alert tool immediately. Say their name, state that they are on a tangent or taking up too much room, and bring the focus back to the group. You can also actively manage the room by calling on the quieter members of the leadership team. Ask them directly for their perspective before allowing the dominant leader to speak again.

Another highly effective technique is to use silent brainstorming. When solving a complex issue, give everyone two minutes to write down their thoughts on note cards before anyone speaks. This forces the loud executive to wait their turn and levels the playing field for the analytical processors on your team. If the behavior continues after the offsite, you must address it in their next quarterly coaching conversation. They must understand that being a great leader means pulling the best ideas out of their peers, not just hearing their own voice.