During the Customer/Employee Headlines segment, our team members keep using their time to praise their own direct reports' daily activities instead of sharing critical organizational news. How do we realign headlines with company-wide intelligence?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The Customer and Employee Headlines segment is a five-minute rapid-fire exchange of real company intelligence, not an employee appreciation forum. While recognizing great work is vital, cluttering this segment with routine praise or daily activity updates dilutes its real purpose. Headlines are meant to capture significant wins or losses that impact the organization, such as a major client threat, a key employee transition, or a systemic customer issue.

To realign this segment, the facilitator must enforce a strict filter. A real headline must meet one of two criteria. It must either be a massive win that the entire leadership team should celebrate, or it must be a significant event that might require an issue to be added to the short-term Issues List. If a leader starts sharing a routine update about their team, the facilitator must gently but firmly interrupt them and ask if the news has a strategic impact on the organization.

If the answer is no, save that feedback for your one-on-one meetings or internal shout-out channels. Instruct your team to prepare their headlines before the Level 10 Meeting starts. Keep them to one sentence. For example, say that our top client renewed their annual contract, or state that a key developer has submitted their two-week notice. This keeps the segment human, fast, and highly informative, allowing your team to move quickly into the tracking and problem-solving portions of the agenda.