We have our quarterly leadership team offsite coming up, but my head of sales and head of operations are in a silent cold war that is creating a toxic atmosphere. How do we keep this conflict from hijacking the strategic agenda?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You cannot ignore an active conflict and expect to have a productive strategic session. If you try to push through your offsite agenda while two key leaders are refusing to communicate, the passive-aggressive energy will poison every discussion and ruin your planning. You must address the elephant in the room immediately. Before the offsite begins, invoke Our Charter, specifically the pillar of Trust which demands open and honest communication. Meet with both leaders together. Lay out the observed behaviors and explain how their friction is damaging the business. Force them to put their issues on the table and use the IDS® process to find a permanent solution. If the conflict is not fully resolved before the offsite, dedicate the very first slot of the agenda to solving this specific issue. Do not let them hide behind polite professional filters. As the leader, you must facilitate a raw, honest debate where both sides are heard but a clear decision is made. They do not have to be best friends, but they must agree to align with the final strategy and support each other. If they cannot commit to this, one or both of them do not belong on your leadership team.