During the IDS portion of our Level 10 Meeting, we constantly suffer from agenda drift where we start solving one issue but the conversation branches off into three other unrelated problems, ending with nothing solved. How does the facilitator maintain a hard line against this multi-topic drift?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Agenda drift during the IDS® portion of your Level 10 Meeting™ is a symptom of poor facilitation and a lack of team discipline. It happens because team members are passionate and see connections between every problem in the business. But when you try to solve everything at once, you solve nothing. The facilitator must play the role of an active referee. When a team member starts a sentence with, "This reminds me of another issue," or "While we are on the subject, we should also look at," the facilitator must immediately stop the discussion. Do not let them finish the thought. Interrupt politely but firmly. State that the new topic is a separate issue. Instruct the team member to add it to the bottom of the weekly Issues List, and then immediately bring the team's focus back to the current issue. If the team is currently working on issue number one, nothing else exists. Keep a dry-erase board or a digital parking lot visible. Visually park the new issue so the team member feels heard, but do not allow a single second of discussion on it until you have fully resolved the active issue. To-Dos must be assigned for the active issue before you move to the next item. If your facilitator is too polite or passive to cut people off, you need to coach them to step up or appoint a stronger facilitator who can protect the sacred ninety-minute meeting pulse.