Beware the Green Mask
If your team is “on track” every month, you’re probably being lied to.
My friend Mike Africa calls this green masking. It’s the tendency for everything to get reported as “green” (i.e. all is well) until right before a deadline, when the real problems finally surface and you end up in last-minute chaos.
That’s why I’m a big believer in Red Flag Sessions.
A Red Flag Session is a standing forum dedicated to clearing obstacles early. It exists to surface what’s stuck, risky, or slowing execution while there’s still time to intervene.
Without a clear and well-designed forum, all too often people see the obstacle, feel the friction, and stay quiet because calling it out feels unsafe. And then the issues show up late, loud, and expensive.
A well-run red flag session makes psychological safety explicit. Raising a risk is treated as a strength not a weakness. Red flags get clarified, and someone always leaves accountable for the unblock. Execution speeds up because the truth comes out early.
Here’s how I structure them:
Who’s in the room:
Team leads and managers – monitor execution and surface issues early.
Key project contributors – identify risks and dependencies.
Executive sponsors (optional) – remove obstacles and provide support.
Cross-functional stakeholders – help resolve issues across teams.
Simple agenda:
Welcome & ground rules – reinforce a blame-free, open culture.
Identify red flags – risks, delays, and blockers on active work.
Explore root causes – what’s really driving the issue.
Action plan – assign clear owners and timelines for fixes.
Recap & next steps – confirm follow-ups and accountability.
Add a 45–60 minute monthly red flag session to your operating cadence. Protect the time. Make it the safest room in the company to talk about what might go wrong while you can still do something about it.
If your team is “on track” every month, you’re being lied to.
