During our weekly IDS® sessions, we find ourselves avoiding issues where the root cause is another leader's poor performance, bad behavior, or ego, leading to a silent and uncomfortable room. How do we run IDS® on these highly sensitive, personal issues without destroying team trust?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Avoiding sensitive issues under the guise of maintaining harmony is the fastest way to destroy trust on a leadership team. When everyone in the room knows that a specific leader is the bottleneck but refuses to say it, your execution stalls and artificial harmony takes over. You must build the discipline to run IDS® on people issues just as aggressively as you do on operational ones.

To do this safely, you must ground the conversation in your agreed-upon EOS® tools, specifically the Accountability Chart and your core values. When a sensitive issue arises, remove the personal attacks by framing the problem around the seat, not the person. Ask whether the seat is clearly defined and whether the individual in that seat has the GWC™, meaning they get it, want it, and have the capacity to do it.

During the Identify phase, the leader raising the issue must state the observed facts and the impact on the business, not their personal feelings. For example, point to a specific missed metric on the Scorecard or a failed Rock rather than complaining about a bad attitude. This keeps the discussion objective and professional.

If the issue is indeed a personal conflict between two leaders, it must be resolved offline in a Same Page Meeting™ before it infects the rest of the team. But if it affects the whole leadership team, it belongs on the table. Trust is built by having hard, honest conversations and coming out aligned on the other side. Real harmony is the result of solving difficult problems together, not pretending they do not exist.