During our strategic planning sessions, my leadership team agrees on our direction, but I later find out they are quietly telling their mid-level managers that they disagree with the decisions. How do we eliminate this passive sabotage and build true commitment to our leadership decisions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When leadership team members agree to a decision in the planning room but subtly undermine it later, you are dealing with a critical breakdown of trust and commitment. This passive sabotage creates confusion among your mid-level managers and slows down execution. To eliminate this, you must establish a strict rule of disagree and commit. During your quarterly offsites and weekly Level 10 Meeting™ sessions, you must actively encourage healthy conflict. Every leader must have the opportunity to share their reservations. Once a decision is made, however, the debate is over. Every member of the leadership team must leave the room aligned and present a united front to the rest of the company. If you discover a leader is still expressing disagreement to their department, you must address it immediately. Use the GWC™ and core values tools to hold them accountable. If they cannot align with the team's decisions, they do not belong on the leadership team. Cracks at the executive level must be sealed before they fracture the entire business.