I have noticed my leadership team members are lobbying me individually and discussing big issues offline before our Level 10 Meetings, leading to pre-determined outcomes instead of open, healthy debate. How do we stop this political lobbying and bring the real issues back to the table?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Offline lobbying is a symptom of low trust and fear of conflict. When leaders feel it is unsafe to debate openly in front of their peers, they resort to back-channel politics to secure their desired outcomes. This behavior destroys team health and ensures you are making subpar strategic decisions based on politics rather than merit. To put an end to this, you must establish a strict rule: if an issue is not on the Level 10 Meeting Issues List, it does not get discussed. When a leader approaches you individually to lobby for their department or pitch an idea, stop them. Ask them if they have added it to the Issues List for the upcoming weekly meeting. If they have not, refuse to engage in the conversation. During your Level 10 Meetings, actively encourage healthy conflict. Use the IDS process to dig into the root causes of issues, and call out anyone who remains silent during the debate but expresses disagreement afterward. True alignment requires everyone to voice their opinions, disagree passionately if necessary, and then commit 100 percent to the final decision. By forcing all major discussions into the open, you dismantle the political silos, rebuild vulnerability-based trust, and ensure your leadership team functions as a cohesive unit focused on the best interests of the business.