Two of our strongest executives on the leadership team have an intense interpersonal feud and refuse to communicate directly, forcing me to referee their disputes. How do I force them to resolve their friction without choosing sides or losing a critical producer?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Stop acting as their emotional clearinghouse. When two executives refuse to communicate directly and pull the founder into the middle, you are enabling dysfunctional behavior and crippling team health. Cracks between leaders at the top inevitably split departments below them into warring factions.

Call both executives into a room together immediately. Do not conduct shuttle diplomacy where you listen to their grievances separately. Put the issue on the table and make it clear that their communication breakdown is now an enterprise issue threatening company traction. Define the acceptable standard of behavior: functional adults who sit on an executive team must be able to debate issues vigorously, align on decisions, and work collaboratively without personal animosity.

Use the Accountability Chart to strip out personal emotion. Most interpersonal friction between executives is actually structural friction caused by overlapping responsibilities or conflicting measurables. Walk through their five major roles and define exactly who owns what. If sales and operations are clashing, clarify where the handoff occurs and establish clear metrics for what constitutes a clean transfer.

Give them thirty days to fix their working relationship. Require them to conduct direct one-on-one sessions to resolve operational disputes before bringing anything to the Level 10 Meeting. If they cannot resolve an issue, they must IDS it openly in front of their peers rather than gossiping in the hallway.

Be prepared to enforce consequences. If an executive produces great individual results but poisons team health and refuses to collaborate, they are a wrong person for your organization. No amount of operational brilliance compensates for a leader who destroys trust at the leadership table.