In our Level 10 Meetings, we have a department head who is incredibly vocal when discussing their own area's issues but sits in complete silence when other departments bring up their challenges during IDS. How do we force this siloed leader to think like an owner and contribute to cross-functional problem solving?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A leader who only engages in their own department's issues is behaving like a functional manager, not a member of the leadership team. When you sit at the leadership table, you must wear your company-first hat. If a leader only cares about their own silo, your decision-making will suffer, and your path to a clean exit will stall.

To break this siloed behavior, the facilitator must actively pull this leader into other departments' issues. During IDS®, do not wait for them to volunteer. Direct specific, high-level questions to them. For example, ask them how a proposed operations change will affect their team, or what they would do to solve a sales bottleneck if they were in the sales seat.

You also need to address this behavior outside the meeting. Have a direct, one-on-one conversation during your regular check-ins. Use the GWC™ framework to evaluate if they truly get, want, and have the capacity to operate at the leadership level. Explain that their value to the company is not just managing their department, but helping lead the entire organization.

Finally, make cross-functional contribution a standard for leadership maturity. If they continue to sit in silence during other departments' issues, they are failing to demonstrate the strategic capability required to run the business. Hold them accountable to this standard, and do not let them hide in their silo.