Following our recent acquisition, we integrated several leaders from the acquired company onto our leadership team, but we now have an undercurrent of us-versus-them rivalry that is stalling decisions. How do we break down these legacy camps and build a single, unified leadership team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Rivalry and camps on a newly merged leadership team will stall your growth and ruin your company culture. To fix this, you must immediately break down the us versus them dynamic and build a single, unified team that shares one vision.

Start by resetting the entire team around your core values and your V/TO. You must hold an alignment session where you rebuild your shared vision from scratch. This is not about choosing one company's culture over the other. It is about creating a new, combined identity and direction for the future.

Next, look at your Accountability Chart. Power struggles happen when seats and responsibilities are poorly defined. You must clearly define every seat on the new leadership team. Ensure there is only one person in each seat, and that every leader knows exactly what they are accountable for. Use the IDS process to openly discuss any remaining friction or overlapping responsibilities.

Finally, focus on building personal trust. Use your next offsite to help the leaders get to know each other as individuals, not just as representatives of legacy companies. When leaders understand each other's backgrounds and motivations, trust builds rapidly. As trust increases, the political posturing will stop, allowing the team to work cohesively toward a clean exit.