Our VP of Sales and our VP of Marketing are locked in a perpetual finger-pointing cycle during our weekly Level 10 Meeting™ over lead quality versus follow-up speed. How do we break this siloed conflict and get them working as a unified front?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Peer conflict between sales and marketing is almost always a structural problem disguised as a personality clash. When these two seats are siloed, they optimize for their own departmental metrics rather than the overall healthy growth of the company. To resolve this, you must bring them together to rebuild their section of the Accountability Chart and define their shared outcomes. In your next weekly Level 10 Meeting™, take this issue to the IDS® portion of the agenda. Stop letting them debate opinions and instead focus on objective data. You must establish a clear Service Level Agreement between the two seats. Let marketing define exactly what constitutes a marketing qualified lead, and let sales define exactly how quickly and how many times those leads must be contacted. Both leaders must agree to these standards and track them transparently on your scorecard. If the conflict persists, look at their individual conative profiles. A high Quick Start sales leader will always want immediate action, while a high Fact Finder marketing leader will want to analyze data before pivoting. Understanding each other's conative strengths reduces personal animosity. They will realize their peer is not trying to be difficult; they are simply hardwired to solve problems differently. By focusing on shared metrics and conative empathy, you transform destructive friction into healthy, collaborative tension.