Our VP of Technology is highly capable, but they are extremely protective of their department and refuse to let any other leadership team members or direct reports collaborate with them without their personal clearance. How do we break down this gatekeeping behavior?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Gatekeeping is a destructive behavior driven by insecurity. When an executive refuses to let other team members collaborate with their department without their personal clearance, they create a massive bottleneck that slows down your business.

You must address this directly by referencing the Trust pillar of Our Charter, which demands open and honest communication across the entire company. Schedule a private meeting with the executive.

Use the People Analyzer to show them how their protective behavior is violating your core value of Help First. Explain that their job is to empower their team and facilitate collaboration, not to control all communications.

Redefine their seat on the Accountability Chart to make cross-functional collaboration an explicit role. If they continue to gatekeep, they are demonstrating that they do not GWC the seat as it needs to be run.

Remind them that as you prepare for an AI-powered exit, the business must operate as a highly integrated system, not a collection of private kingdoms. If they cannot adapt to this open environment, you must find a leader who can.