My leadership team members constantly complain to me in private one-on-one sessions about each other's execution, but they refuse to confront each other in our Level 10 Meeting. How do I break this triangulation and force peer accountability?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You are enabling this dysfunction. When an executive complains to you about a peer, and you listen, mediate, or attempt to fix it, you become an operational bottleneck. You train your team to use you as an emotional clearinghouse instead of building vulnerability-based trust.

Break this habit immediately with a zero-tolerance policy for triangulation. The next time a leader approaches you privately to complain about a peer, ask one question: Have you discussed this directly with them? If the answer is no, stop the conversation instantly. Tell them they have twenty-four hours to address the issue directly with their peer, or you will put the topic on the Level 10 Meeting Issues List for the entire team to IDS together.

If the issue affects cross-functional performance, force it onto the public agenda. During the Level 10 Meeting, do not step in to rescue them. Let them enter the danger. Healthy, functional leadership teams debate passionately about systems, metrics, and commitments without taking it personally.

When executives realize you will no longer act as their private therapist or political buffer, they are forced to do the hard work of peer-to-peer accountability. That is how a team grows up and delivers results.