Our VP of Product and VP of Client Services constantly clash over who has final say on client deliverables, creating friction that stalls execution. How do we resolve this peer conflict without picking a favorite?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When two executive peers fight over decisions, the issue is almost never personal animosity. It is structural ambiguity on your Accountability Chart. If two people believe they have final authority over the same outcome, nobody actually owns it.

Take this dispute directly to your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ and put it on the IDS® list. Do not act as an informal mediator in private offices. Strip the personalities away and look strictly at the seats. You must define the five major roles for both the Product seat and the Client Services seat with absolute clarity. One seat must hold ultimate accountability for client satisfaction during delivery, while the other holds accountability for technical specifications and roadmap integrity.

If the decision impacts the delivery timeline and client retention, the operational seat makes the call. If it alters the core product architecture, the product seat makes the call. Make that decision line explicit. Cracks at the leadership level appear as canyons to the rest of the company, and your teams are currently using this executive turf war as an excuse for dropped balls. Once the line is drawn on the Accountability Chart, enforce it ruthlessly. Both leaders must commit to the resolution, support each other publicly, and hold their respective departments to that standard.