During our Level 10 Meeting™, whenever a scorecard metric or Rock is off track, the discussion quickly turns into an interrogation of the responsible leader, making them defensive and destroying the trust in the room. How do we keep the focus on solving the issue rather than putting the seat holder on trial?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a scorecard metric or Rock goes red, it is an operational problem, not a personal failure. If your team uses the Level 10 Meeting™ to put leaders on trial, people will start hiding the truth, sandbagging their targets, and manipulating data to avoid conflict. This kills transparency.

To stop this interrogation behavior, you must separate the person from the issue. When a metric is red, it is dropped to the Issues List. Once you reach the IDS® portion, the facilitator must frame the issue around the process, not the person.

Instead of asking, "Why did you fail to hit your number?" ask, "What is the bottleneck in our system that is preventing us from hitting this target?" This shifts the focus from blame to problem-solving.

The team must understand that they are collectively responsible for the health of the business. When one department is struggling, the entire leadership team must lean in to help solve the issue.

Remind the team of your core values and the importance of open, honest communication. If a leader feels supported rather than attacked, they will be much more willing to bring real, ugly issues to the table. By focusing on the process and the system, you build a high-trust environment that can scale effectively and prepare the business for a clean exit.