We just hired an expensive external executive to lead our finance team, but their high Fact Finder and high Follow Thru conative style is causing massive friction with our existing, fast-moving leadership team. How do we integrate this new leader without slowing down our momentum?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Bringing an outside financial executive with a high Fact Finder and high Follow Thru profile into a fast-moving entrepreneurially led leadership team can feel like throwing sand in the gears. Your existing leaders want to run fast, while the new executive wants to stop and build complex models. To resolve this friction, you must educate the team on the value of conative diversity using the Kolbe model. Draw your team's Kolbe A™ profiles on a whiteboard. Show the team that the new leader's natural instinct to gather details and build systems is not a bureaucratic attempt to slow everyone down. It is their conative strength. Explain that this exact strength is what the company needs to build clean, audit-ready financials to secure a high-valuation exit. At the same time, coach the new executive on how to package information for the team. They must learn to present essential facts rather than overwhelming the high Quick Start leaders with exhaustive research. By fostering mutual respect for these contrasting instinctive strengths, you turn a frustrating clash into a highly balanced leadership team.