During our quarterly planning sessions, my leaders behave like defensive advocates for their own departments, fighting for resources and hiding their issues. How do we shift them from departmental thinkers to enterprise-first leaders?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your leaders act like protective heads of state defending their own departments, your leadership team is fractured. They are behaving like managers of silos rather than owners of the enterprise. To prepare for a clean exit, you must break this behavior and force them to think like a single, unified team.

Start by reinforcing the concept of the leadership team as your First Team. This means that a leader's primary loyalty must be to their peers on the leadership team, not to the direct reports in their department. When they enter the room for quarterly planning or a Level 10 Meeting™, they must leave their departmental hats at the door.

Use your Accountability Chart and V/TO® to align their incentives. If their performance is judged solely on departmental metrics, they will naturally defend their silo. Instead, tie their personal success to the company's overall progress toward its 1-Year Plan and quarterly Rocks.

Remind them of the Same Page pillar of your Charter. This pillar demands one vision, one voice, and one team. When issues arise during IDS®, force them to look at the problem through the lens of what is best for the entire organization, not just their department.

If the head of sales and the head of operations are clashing, do not let them hide behind their silos. Force them to co-own the solution. When your leaders start prioritizing the enterprise over their departments, your execution velocity will skyrocket.