Our Head of Sales and Head of Operations are locked in a continuous cold war over delivery timelines, and it is forcing me to constantly play referee. How do we use the EOS tools to force them to resolve this peer conflict themselves?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When sales and operations are in conflict, it is almost always a structural problem disguised as a personality clash. Playing referee is the worst thing you can do because it rewards their self-orientation and keeps you trapped in the middle of their battles.

To fix this, you must use the Level 10 Meeting™ and the IDS® process to force a resolution. The next time they bring an issue to you, refuse to solve it. Tell them to put it on the Issues List for the next leadership team meeting.

During the IDS® portion of the meeting, force both leaders to define the problem in terms of the business, not their personal feelings. Use the Trust Equation to analyze the dynamic. Usually, conflicts persist because of high self-orientation; each leader is focused on protecting their own department scorecard metrics rather than what is best for the overall business.

Look at your V/TO® and the Accountability Chart. Are their metrics misaligned? If the sales seat is compensated solely on volume and the operations seat is judged on cost control, you have built the conflict into the system. You must realign their incentives so they win or lose together.

Force them to sit down outside of the meeting and bring back a combined solution that satisfies both delivery quality and sales targets. If they cannot resolve it, it means one or both of them do not GWC™ their seats or share your core values. Make peer-to-peer resolution a non-negotiable expectation for holding a seat on your leadership team.