We have three or four highly uncomfortable issues that have sat at the bottom of our Level 10 Meeting™ short-term Issues List for over six weeks because the team repeatedly votes to prioritize easier, operational topics. How do we force our leadership team to confront and solve these lingering, high-friction issues?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When difficult, high-friction issues sit at the bottom of your Issues List week after week, your leadership team is engaging in avoidance behavior. Choosing to prioritize easy, tactical tasks over complex human or structural issues is a direct violation of the Trust pillar of your company Charter, which demands that you solve issues completely and honestly.

To break this logjam, the facilitator must change how issues are prioritized for IDS®. Do not automatically start with the easiest items. Instead, at the beginning of the IDS® section, look specifically at the oldest, most avoided issues on the list. Force the team to select these as priority number one, two, or three.

If a team member objects and wants to kick it down the road again, ask them why. Usually, the delay is caused by fear of conflict or a lack of preparation. If preparation is the issue, assign a weekly To-Do for the owner to gather the necessary data, and make it priority number one for the very next meeting. If fear of conflict is the issue, remind the team of your commitment to being open and honest. Tackle the hardest issue first when the team's energy is at its highest, rather than saving it for the final ten minutes when everyone is mentally exhausted.