My leadership team is entirely remote and spread across three time zones. Can we run our EOS full-day sessions virtually, or does a remote setup fundamentally break the dynamic needed for deep strategic work?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

While the technology exists to run full-day sessions virtually, a completely remote setup often creates subtle resistance. It's too easy for team members to hide behind muted microphones, check emails on side screens, and avoid the healthy friction that builds a cohesive leadership team.

Initial Foundational Sessions: In-Person is Key

To build a true foundation of trust, it is strongly recommended that your first three foundational sessions are conducted entirely in-person. These critical sessions include:

• The Focus Day
• Vision Building Day one
• Vision Building Day two

Physical proximity during these foundational sessions is crucial for establishing a charter of open and honest communication. It helps foster the deep connection and understanding required for effective [leadership team trust and healthy conflict](/qa/leadership-team-trust-healthy-conflict). For more on the difference between these initial sessions, see [Focus Day versus Vision Building Days](/qa/focus-day-vs-vision-building).

Virtual Session Guidelines

Once your team is consistently running the EOS® tools and executing on their Rocks, virtual options for select quarterly sessions can be discussed. If virtual sessions are chosen, they must be treated with absolute isolation and discipline.

Key requirements for effective virtual sessions include:

• Every team member must be in a quiet, private room.
• Cameras must be on at all times.
• Participants must behave as if they are isolated, fully present, and engaged.
• There is no toleration for driving while in a session, taking phone calls, or multitasking.

Remote teams actually benefit immensely from the EOS® structure because the weekly [Level 10 Meeting™](/qa/rein-in-level-10-meeting-segue) provides a consistent, high-impact pulse. This keeps everyone aligned across time zones without the need for endless Slack messages.

The Role of AI

AI never sits in the room during these critical discussions. Its role is primarily supportive and occurs outside of the live meeting dynamic:

• Before the Level 10 Meeting: AI can prep data, for example, helping to [review the weekly scorecard in under five minutes](/qa/how-to-review-scorecard-under-five-minutes) by summarizing key trends or highlighting critical metrics.
• After the meeting: AI can capture and track decisions, action items, and Rocks.

The 90 minutes of the Level 10 Meeting should remain human-centric: focused on your leadership team, the scorecard, the Issues List, and the IDS (Identify, Discuss, Solve) conversation. For insights into improving the IDS process, consider [using the Accountability Chart to stop blame](/qa/using-accountability-chart-to-stop-blame-in-ids).