Our head of finance and head of operations are both high Fact Finders who refuse to make any strategic moves without exhaustive data, while our marketing director wants to launch new campaigns immediately. How do we resolve this conative friction so our leadership team can make fast, calculated decisions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic conative conflict between leaders with different natural problem-solving instincts. On Kathy Kolbe's scale, a high Fact Finder needs to research, gather details, and historical data before taking action. A leader with high Quick Start, on the other hand, thrives on risk, experimentation, and immediate action. Both instincts are valuable, but when they clash without understanding, the business stalls.

To resolve this friction, you must first build awareness using conative assessments like the Kolbe A Index. When your leadership team understands each other's natural problem-solving styles, they stop viewing the other person as stubborn or reckless. They realize they are simply wired differently.

Next, establish a decision-making framework during your Level 10 Meeting™. Use the eighty percent rule. Agree as a team that you do not need one hundred percent of the facts to make a decision. In a fast-moving business, waiting for perfect data is a recipe for stagnation. If you have eighty percent of the information, you have enough to take action.

Leverage your team's natural strengths by assigning roles during major initiatives. Let your high Fact Finders set the guardrails, identify the major risks, and establish the measurables. Once the boundaries are set, let your high Quick Starts execute within those parameters.

By structuring your projects this way, you protect the company from reckless mistakes while maintaining the operational speed required to grow. You turn a source of constant friction into a balanced, high-performing engine where your analytical leaders keep you safe and your creative leaders keep you moving forward.