During the IDS portion of our Level 10 Meeting, we frequently agree on a solution, but then team members loop back to discussing the problem all over again. How do we stop this agenda drift?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic meeting trap. You enter the Solve phase, someone agrees to a To-Do, and then someone else says, 'But wait, what about this other scenario?' Suddenly, you are pulled back into the Discuss phase. This loop eats up your precious ninety minutes and leaves the team feeling exhausted and unproductive. To break this cycle, your facilitator must be ruthless about the transition between the steps of IDS®. Once the team has identified the root cause and thoroughly discussed it, the facilitator must call for the solution. When a solution is agreed upon and a To-Do is assigned to a specific person, that issue is officially closed. If a team member tries to reopen the discussion, the facilitator must physically cut them off. Use a simple verbal cue like: we have already solved this issue and assigned the To-Do, so we are moving to the next item. If you have a new concern, put it at the bottom of the list as a separate issue. This discipline requires the team to respect the facilitator's authority. Remember, you do not need consensus to solve an issue; you need alignment. Once the owner of the seat accountable for that issue makes the call and accepts the To-Do, the debate is over. Move on to the next priority immediately to protect your meeting pulse.