When a To-Do on our Level 10 Meeting™ list requires collaboration between two departments, both leaders point fingers when it is not done, causing us to carry the item for weeks. How do we assign accountability for joint action items to keep our seven-day commitments clean?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A common source of meeting waste is the shared To-Do. When an action item requires collaboration between two departments, assigning it to both leaders is a guaranteed way to ensure it rolls over, with both pointing fingers at the next weekly pulse.

To maintain clean accountability and hit your target of a ninety percent To-Do completion rate, enforce these guidelines:

- Every To-Do on your Level 10 Meeting™ list must be assigned to a single individual, never to two people or a group.
- The person assigned the To-Do is fully accountable for its completion, even if they must collaborate with other team members to get it done.
- If a joint effort is required, break the action item down into smaller, individual tasks with clear, single-point accountability for each piece.
- The facilitator must refuse to write down any To-Do that does not have a single name next to it, keeping the commitment clean and undisputed.

By establishing single-point accountability for every seven-day commitment, you eliminate finger-pointing and build a high-performing culture where promises are kept.