During our IDS® sessions, our team members get highly defensive when we try to dig past the surface symptoms of an issue, leading to polite agreement rather than real resolution. How do we challenge each other to find the root cause without triggering personal defensiveness?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Personal defensiveness occurs when team members confuse an operational issue with a personal attack. To break this habit, you must separate the people from the process by anchoring your discussions in your Accountability Chart and your Core Values.

Start by reminding the team that the goal of IDS® is to solve the issue for the good of the company, not to assign blame. When an issue is raised, identify which seat on the Accountability Chart owns the process in question. This shifts the focus from the individual to the structural responsibilities of the seat.

To dig past the surface symptoms, use a systematic interrogation method. Ask why the issue occurred, and then ask why to that answer, repeating the process until you reach the root operational breakdown. For example, if the issue is a missed sales target, do not settle for a sluggish market as the excuse. Keep digging until you discover that the root cause is a lack of qualified leads being handed over from marketing.

Encourage your team to use neutral, data-driven language. Instead of saying a colleague is failing, point to the Scorecard metrics that are consistently in the red. By focusing on objective data and structural seats, you create a safe environment where team members can engage in healthy conflict to solve the real problems holding your business back.