My VP of Marketing and VP of Sales polite-talk each other in our Level 10 Meetings™, but behind the scenes, marketing is refusing to adjust lead criteria and sales is letting marketing leads rot in the CRM. How do we use IDS® to force them to resolve this structural gridlock?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Polite talk that hides operational friction is a classic sign of low trust and high self-protection. When your VP of Marketing and VP of Sales are pleasant in meetings but allow lead conversion to fail behind the scenes, they are engaging in status management rather than problem-solving.

To break this gridlock, you must drag this issue directly into the IDS® portion of your Level 10 Meeting™. Stop letting them discuss high-level theories. Force them to bring real-time data to the table.

First, use the Accountability Chart to establish clear boundaries. The marketing seat must be accountable for bringing in leads that meet a highly defined profile. The sales seat must be accountable for responding to those leads within a specific timeframe. These targets must be tracked weekly on your scorecard.

Next, apply the Trust Equation. The breakdown here is a high level of self-orientation; both leaders are trying to protect their individual reputations instead of looking at the overall customer journey.

Force them to co-author a shared Rock that requires joint execution. For example, create a Rock to optimize the lead-to-opportunity pipeline by twenty percent. They both win or they both lose on this goal. By tying their performance together, you force them to drop the passive-aggressive posturing and work as peers to solve the issues holding the business back.