When we try to run IDS® on issues that involve a leadership team member's performance or fit for their seat, the room becomes defensive and we end up avoiding the real conversation. How do we identify and solve these sensitive interpersonal issues without breaking trust?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Interpersonal friction on a leadership team is rarely about personality. It is almost always a structural issue involving the Accountability Chart or an alignment issue with your Core Values. When you need to IDS® an issue that involves someone sitting in the room, you must strip the personal emotion out of the conversation by utilizing the GWC™ tool, which stands for Get it, Want it, and Capacity to do it.

Begin by defining the issue in terms of the seat, not the person. State the specific role on the Accountability Chart that is failing to deliver and reference the objective metrics on the weekly Scorecard. Frame the discussion around whether the seat is properly designed and whether the current owner exhibits the conative traits and skills required to execute the roles. This shifts the focus from a personal attack to an objective business problem.

The leader of the session must establish a rule of absolute honesty. If someone does not GWC™ their seat, or if their behaviors do not align with your Core Values, keeping them in that position is unfair to both the business and the individual. Have the hard conversation directly, referencing specific, documented behaviors rather than vague feelings. Solving the issue behind the issue means accepting that sometimes the right solution is to move a team member to a different seat where they can succeed, or to help them make a clean exit from the company. Protecting someone's feelings at the expense of your organizational health ultimately destroys trust across the entire leadership team.