Running a Level 10 Meeting? Here’s What You’re Probably Doing Wrong

Why Level 10 Meetings Matter

In the early days of Offline, before I started using Level 10 meetings (better known as “L10s”), my meetings were a mess.

There was no rhythm, no structure — just a chaotic scramble whenever something urgent came up.

We didn’t have a regular time set aside for discussing the most important issues, and as a result, things got missed. Problems festered, and the company lacked real accountability.

The first time we ran an L10, I realized how much we’d been missing. The structure forces you to focus on what’s important: tracking your company’s biggest priorities (rocks), holding people accountable through measurable numbers (scorecards), and solving real issues (IDS).

All of a sudden, we had a framework to make sure the right things were getting discussed and moved forward.

But even a great framework isn’t a silver bullet—it’s only as good as the person running it and the people participating in it.

I’ve made mistakes with L10 meetings — plenty of them — and I’ve seen how easily they can go off track.

Here are the biggest pitfalls I’ve encountered when running L10 meetings.

Pitfall #1: The Leader’s Meeting Trap

One of the biggest problems I’ve run into is turning the L10 into “my meeting.”

When the meeting leader is the one adding all the issues to the list and suggesting all the solutions, something’s wrong. It’s a clear sign that the team isn’t engaged, and the leader is carrying too much weight.

The L10 is supposed to be a collaborative meeting.

If it’s not, it’s a clear sign that the rest of the team either isn’t comfortable speaking up, or they don’t feel responsible for identifying issues.

And when the leader is the one coming up with all the solutions, we’re missing out on valuable perspectives. The best solutions come from the team — not just from the leader.

Pitfall #2: Scorecards That Don’t Matter

Early on, I noticed that our scorecard updates started feeling like a formality.

We’d go through the numbers, but it felt like no one really cared.

If the numbers were red, there was no urgency. If they were green, no one felt proud.

The team wasn’t emotionally connected to the results, and that’s a big problem.

The scorecard only works if people feel responsible for their numbers.

It’s supposed to create a sense of ownership — where the team feels the pain of a red number and celebrates a green one. If that’s not happening, the scorecard becomes just another meaningless routine, and the team isn’t really bought in.

Pitfall #3: Trying to Cram Everything Into One Meeting

There was a time when I used the L10 meeting as a catch-all.

Every conversation, every update, every decision — it all went through the L10.

But the more I did this, the more bloated and inefficient the meetings became. The L10 started to lose its focus because we were trying to do too much in one sitting.

I’ve learned that not everything needs to flow through the L10. It’s a meeting specifically for focused execution around the most important issues and numbers.

Other conversations — quick updates, tactical discussions, or smaller problems — should happen outside the L10.

Trying to do everything in one meeting is a mistake that makes the L10 less effective.

Pitfall #4: Misusing the Issues List

At the beginning, I encouraged the team to put everything on the issues list. I wanted to foster participation, so I didn’t filter anything.

But as time went on, the issues list became a dumping ground for every minor annoyance. We’d waste time discussing things that didn’t really matter, and important issues were getting buried.

There’s a balance here.

You want people to feel comfortable raising issues, but it’s the leader’s responsibility to help shape and coach what belongs on the list.

Some problems are better handled through a quick Slack message or phone call, while others need more in-depth discussion.

The L10 issues list is for the big stuff — the problems that could derail the company or block our progress.

Pitfall #5: Using the Wrong Metrics on the Scorecard

Figuring out the right metrics for the scorecard can actually be really hard.

Traction tells you to focus on “leading indicators,” but in a startup, it’s not always that simple.

Sometimes, you don’t have enough repeatability to even know what your leading indicators should be.

It’s better to wait until you have some repeatability before you lock in weekly scorecard metrics. In the meantime, I’ve found it’s helpful to track experiments and report on what’s working and what’s not.

You can always add weekly metrics later once you know what’s actually moving the needle.

Pitfall #6: Not Doing the Pre-Work

The L10 isn’t magic — it’s part of a bigger system.

I’ve had weeks where the L10 felt disconnected, and it’s always because we hadn’t done the work outside the meeting.

If the team doesn’t have clarity on the company’s vision, priorities, and key metrics, the L10 can’t do its job.

You can’t expect the L10 to fix everything on its own. The real work happens before the meeting — figuring out what matters, getting the team aligned, and making sure everyone’s on the same page.

Without that foundation, the L10 becomes a band-aid, not a solution.

The Right Way to Hold an L10 Meeting

After running literally hundreds of L10s, here are two things I’ve learned about the right way to run an L10:

#1: A great L10 meeting should feel pretty simple.

Simple doesn’t mean easy or calm. Simple means it shouldn’t feel overly complicated or forced. When everyone is aligned on the vision, priorities, and metrics before the meeting starts, the conversation flows naturally.

#2 The L10 isn’t about the leader — it’s about the team.

If you do the hard work of creating a space where people feel responsible for the numbers, empowered to bring up issues, and committed to solving them together, then L10s are an incredibly powerful tool for execution.