Two of my executives have an ongoing interpersonal feud that is spilling into their departments and dividing our staff. How do we address personal animosity and rebuild functional trust on the leadership team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Interpersonal feuds at the leadership level are never isolated incidents. Cracks at the leadership table show up as deep canyons throughout the rest of your organization. When two executives clash, their direct reports adopt defensive postures, functional collaboration stalls, and staff begin taking sides.

To resolve this, you must run an immediate, closed-door intervention facilitated by the Integrator or an outside Professional EOS Implementer. Do not allow them to hide behind email or backchannel complaints. Seat them in a room and strip the conversation down to operational facts.

First, review your Core Values. If either executive fails to embody those values in how they treat colleagues, you have a People Analyzer issue, not an ideological debate. If one of them fails the Core Values test, they must be exited.

Second, inspect the Accountability Chart. Most toxic peer conflicts are rooted in structural ambiguity, where accountabilities overlap or neither leader knows who holds final decision rights. Clarify their five major roles so lines of ownership are unmistakable.

Third, force vulnerability-based trust. Have each executive openly admit their own operational failures that contributed to the rift. They do not have to become best friends outside of work, but they must establish a cohesive working relationship based on mutual accountability. If either leader refuses to put enterprise success above personal grievance, remove them immediately.