We have a partner-level owner who bypasses our Accountability Chart during the Level 10 Meeting™ by trying to assign To-Dos directly to other leaders' direct reports who are not even in the room. How do we stop this boundary-crossing behavior?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a partner-level owner tries to assign weekly To-Dos directly to other leaders' direct reports during the Level 10 Meeting™, they violate the integrity of the Accountability Chart. This boundary-crossing behavior bypasses the established leadership structure, creates confusion, and undermines the authority of the department heads sitting at the table.

The Level 10 Meeting™ is for the leadership team. Only the people in the room can be held accountable for the actions decided during the meeting. If a solution to an issue requires work from a mid-level manager or specialist, the To-Do must still be assigned to the leadership team member who owns that seat on the Accountability Chart.

For example, if a marketing task needs to be completed, the To-Do goes to the head of marketing, not their designer. The head of marketing is then responsible for delegating that task within their department outside of the meeting.

The facilitator must immediately stop any attempt to assign tasks to non-attendees. Say: We can only assign To-Dos to people at this table. Who owns this seat and will take responsibility for ensuring this gets done?

This maintains clear lines of accountability, which is a fundamental requirement for scaling your operations and preparing your business for a clean exit.