Our operations director and customer success director are quietly refusing to share resources or collaborate, and the resulting friction is trickling down to their departments. How do we resolve this peer conflict before their siloed behavior permanently divides our middle managers?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When two leaders engage in a silent war of non-cooperation, the cracks at the top of your organization quickly turn into gaping canyons for the teams below them. This behavior is toxic, passive-aggressive, and must be addressed immediately before your middle managers start picking sides.

The solution starts by forcing these two leaders to resolve their differences peer-to-peer. As the Integrator, you must resist the temptation to step in and arbitrate their dispute. Instead, schedule a private session and use the EOS framework of GWC, which stands for Get It, Want It, and Capacity to Do It, alongside your Accountability Chart to clarify their exact roles.

Have them sit down together and identify, discuss, and solve the issue, which we call IDS in the EOS process. They must clearly define where their operational handoffs occur and where their resources are shared. Have them document these boundaries and present a joint solution to you.

Remind them that their primary allegiance is to the leadership team, not to their individual departments. If they cannot put the company's needs first, you have a Right Person, Right Seat issue. Give them a clear timeline to resolve the friction. If they refuse to collaborate after you have clarified their roles and expectations, you must make a hard decision about whether both of them belong on your leadership team.