Two of our key leadership team members have a deep personal dislike for each other that is starting to affect their departments, yet they maintain a professional facade in our Level 10 Meetings™. How do we force them to resolve this underlying peer conflict directly?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When two leaders harbor a quiet, professional dislike for one another, it creates drag across your entire organization. Their departments stop collaborating, information gets withheld, and decisions slow down. You cannot allow this passive hostility to persist.

You must address this by enforcing the Trust pillar of Our Charter, which demands open and honest communication. Do not let them hide behind polite behavior in your Level 10 Meetings™.

Bring both leaders into a private room. Do not try to mediate their personal feelings or play therapist. Focus entirely on the business impact of their division. State the objective observations of how their conflict is hurting the team, such as delayed projects or communication breakdowns.

Instruct them to perform a direct clearing session. Each leader must answer two questions for the other:
- What am I doing, or not doing, that is making your job harder?
- What do I need from you that I am not getting?

They must listen without defending themselves. Once the issues are on the table, use the IDS® process to identify the root causes of their friction, discuss them, and agree on permanent solutions.

Make it clear that their professional relationship is not optional. They do not have to be friends outside of work, but they must be completely aligned at the leadership table. If they cannot build a functional, high-trust working relationship, one or both of them will lose their seat on the Accountability Chart. You cannot build a scalable, exit-ready business with a fractured leadership core.