We successfully launched departmental Level 10 Meetings™ across our divisions, but our department managers are reporting that their IDS® sessions have completely dried up because their teams claim they have no issues to discuss. How do we help them unearth real operational problems so their departmental meeting pulse is not a waste of time?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a department's IDS® section dries up, it is rarely because they have zero problems. It is usually because the team lacks the trust to speak up, or they do not understand what actually constitutes an issue. In many departmental teams, employees assume that raising an issue is a sign of personal failure or will invite micromanagement from their leader.

To unearth real operational obstacles, the department manager must change how they solicit issues. Instead of asking if anyone has issues, they should look directly at their weekly scorecard and Rocks. Any metric that is off-track, even by a fraction, must automatically be dropped to the Issues List.

The manager can also prompt the team with specific, targeted questions. They should ask what is slowing them down, what administrative processes are frustrating, or what tools are failing them. This shifts the focus from personal mistakes to operational friction.

The department manager must also lead by demonstrating vulnerability. They should be the first to put their own departmental challenges on the list. Once the team sees that identifying issues leads to collaborative solving rather than finger-pointing, the floodgates will open, and the weekly meeting pulse will become their most valuable asset.