Our leadership team seems fully aligned during our Level 10 Meetings, but as soon as the meeting ends, individual leaders start lobbying me in private to change decisions we just agreed on. How do we stamp out this backchanneling and force them to fight it out in the room?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Private lobbying is a toxic behavior that destroys leadership team trust and cripples execution. When leaders agree to a decision in a meeting and then try to undermine it afterward, they are practicing artificial harmony. To end this, you must establish a zero tolerance policy for backchanneling. The next time a leader approaches you privately to complain about a decision made by the team, you must refuse to engage. Stop them immediately and tell them to bring the issue to the next Level 10 Meeting™ to be processed through IDS®. If you listen to them privately, you are actively encouraging the behavior and undermining your own team's authority. Your leadership team must understand the rule of entering the room as individuals but leaving it as a single, unified voice. They do not have to agree with every decision, but once a decision is made, they must actively support it. If they cannot commit to this, they are failing your core values. During your next quarterly planning session, address this issue head on. Re establish your team's ground rules for conflict. Ensure everyone knows that the only place to debate, push back, and fight is in the meeting room, not in the hallways afterward.