How I Use EOS® Tools to Help Run My Team

January 30, 2026management

Or: how meetings stopped being so painful and people started owning their work.

If you are anything like me, you hate meetings. Well, actually – I love meetings. But there’s got to be some parameters around it. Turns out, what I needed for my meetings to not be so painful, was an agenda. And what better way to build agendas, than through the adoption of EOS®. My leadership team was already using it, and our…sub leadership team had been using it in a weird form (and still are!) as a way to keep us straight in meetings. Finally – I decided to apply it to my team on the micro level.

I adopted EOS® because I was tired of:

Meetings that felt busy but didn’t move anything forward
The same issues popping up every single week
People doing great work but still feeling misaligned
And that quiet, nagging feeling of “we’re good… but we could be tighter”

What EOS® gave me wasn’t rigidity. Although, I do like the rigidity of it, neurodiverse and all.
It gave me x ray vision.

And when you run a team in marketing — where everything changes constantly — you have to SEE everything all of the time.

EOS® Isn’t About Control. It’s About Focus.

This is the part people misunderstand.

EOS® tools aren’t there to micromanage people. They’re there to:

Create shared expectations
Reduce noise
Make decisions visible
And let good people do their best work without chaos

I use EOS® tools as guardrails, not handcuffs.

Meetings: From “Ugh” to Actually Useful

Let’s start with meetings, because that’s where most teams lose momentum.

The Level 10 Meeting® format completely changed how we show up together.

Before:

Meetings drifted
Updates turned into debates
Debates turned into rabbit holes
And the most important issues got rushed at the end

Now:

Everyone knows the agenda
Everyone knows the pace
Everyone knows why we’re there

The biggest unlock for me wasn’t the structure itself — it was the discipline of sticking to it.

When you respect the agenda, you respect people’s time.

Amazing Agendas Are a Force Multiplier

A good agenda doesn’t just organize a meeting — it shapes behavior.

Using EOS® tools, our agendas:

Are predictable (in a good way)
Keep conversations focused
Surface real issues instead of symptoms
Make it clear when something is a “to-do” vs. an “issue”

And most importantly:
The meeting isn’t the place to brainstorm everything.
It’s the place to solve the right things.

IDS®: The Quiet MVP

If I had to pick one EOS® tool that changed everything, it’s IDS® (Identify, Discuss, Solve).

This is where teams usually think they’re good… until they realize they’re not actually solving anything.

What IDS® forces us to do:

Identify the real issue (not the loudest one)
Discuss it without jumping to solutions too fast
Solve it clearly, with ownership and next steps

No vague “we’ll circle back.”
No half-decisions.

Just clarity.

Right Butt, Right Chair® (The Part Everyone Avoids)

This one matters more than people like to admit.

The Right Butt, Right Chair® concept isn’t about judgment — it’s about honesty.

I use it to ask:

Does this role actually match what this person is good at?
Are we setting them up to win?
Or are we quietly hoping things magically improve?

Sometimes the answer is:

“They’re in the wrong seat”
Not “They’re the wrong person”

EOS® gives you language to have those conversations without drama.

And when people are in the right chair?
Everything gets easier.

Tools Create Consistency. Consistency Creates Trust.

What I’ve learned is this:

Teams don’t fall apart because people don’t care.
They fall apart because expectations aren’t clear.

EOS® tools help us:

Stay aligned week to week
Make progress visible
Keep issues from piling up
And create a rhythm where people know what “good” looks like

That consistency builds trust — and trust builds speed.

Why This Matters in Marketing (Specifically)

Marketing teams live in:

Ambiguity
Changing platforms
Shifting goals
External pressure

Without structure, everything feels urgent.
With EOS®, we can decide what actually is urgent.

It lets us move fast without being frantic.

Final Thought

I don’t use EOS® because it’s trendy.
I use it because it helps real humans work better together.

Better meetings.
Clearer roles.
Fewer surprises.
More ownership.

And honestly?
That’s what most teams are actually looking for.

If you’re curious how EOS® tools might fit into your team — or you’re already using them and want to tighten things up — I’m always happy to talk it through.

No pressure. Just clarity.