Our departmental Level 10 Meetings™ are running way over the ninety-minute limit because middle managers lack the facilitation skills to keep their teams on track. How do we upskill our managers to run tight, disciplined weekly pulses without the Integrator having to sit in on every meeting?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your middle managers are likely treating their departmental Level 10 Meetings™ like update sessions rather than execution pulses. When a meeting runs long, it is almost always because the facilitator is allowing discussion during the first three segments of the agenda, or they are letting team members tell stories during IDS®.

To upskill your managers without babysitting them, you need to train them on the mechanics of strict facilitation. First, have them shadow the leadership team Level 10 Meeting™ to see what a highly disciplined ninety-minute pulse looks like. Show them how the Integrator ruthlessly cuts off discussion during the Scorecard and Rock reviews.

Second, provide them with a clear facilitation playbook. Teach them the phrase, 'That sounds like an issue, let's drop it to the list.' This single tool keeps the meeting moving through the reporting phase in under fifteen minutes, preserving a full hour for IDS®.

Third, implement a peer-review system. Instead of the Integrator sitting in, have department managers sit in on each other's meetings once a quarter. They can observe, take notes, and score the meeting based on the Level 10 Meeting™ tool.

Finally, hold your managers accountable to the team rating. If their team is rating the meeting a seven or lower, or if the meeting consistently runs over ninety minutes, that manager has an issue on their own leadership list. Solve it in your leadership IDS® session by focusing on their facilitation capacity.