When an issue on our Level 10 Meeting list is clearly rooted in interpersonal conflict between two executives, the room hides behind process debates. How does an Integrator cut through polite avoidance to identify the real issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When executives hide interpersonal tension behind process talk, the Issues List gets filled with requests for new forms, better software, or extra reporting layers. That is expensive avoidance. If the head of sales and the head of operations cannot agree on handoffs, inventing a ten-step checklist will not fix the fact that they do not trust each other.

The Integrator must stop the discussion the moment someone proposes a bureaucratic fix for a behavioral breakdown. Ask a direct question: If we rolled out this new process tomorrow, would the friction between these two seats actually disappear? When the room admits it will not, you have stripped away the smoke screen.

From there, drive directly to the core tension:

- Name the specific friction plainly. State what seat is failing to deliver what input, and what the human consequence is to the other seat.
- Determine if the breakdown is a lack of clear accountability or an unwillingness to communicate directly. If the seats on the Accountability Chart overlap, clarify the five core roles immediately.
- If the roles are crystal clear, push the conversation to the EOS People Analyzer®. Does one of the executives fail to demonstrate the Core Values, or do they lack the capacity to execute the seat?
- If the conflict is purely interpersonal, do not waste the leadership team's time playing marriage counselor in the Level 10 Meeting. Direct the two individuals to enter a separate room immediately after the meeting to IDS the conflict directly, with the Integrator facilitating only if required.

Stop letting your team solve fake structural issues to avoid difficult human conversations. Clear the air or change the seats.