My leadership team nods in agreement during our weekly Level 10 Meeting, but then they lobby me individually behind closed doors or complain to their departments. How do I stop this passive-aggressive behavior?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is the classic meeting after the meeting, and it is a symptom of low trust and fear of conflict. When executives smile in the room and complain in the hallway, they are protecting themselves instead of committing to the company. Cracks at the leadership level become massive canyons to the rest of the organization.

To break this habit, you must make artificial harmony uncomfortable. As the Integrator or meeting leader, stop accepting easy consensus. When an important issue is raised during IDS, demand that quiet leaders state their perspective. If you sense hesitation, call it out directly: You look uncomfortable with this decision. What are you not saying? Push for passionate, unfiltered debate until all perspectives are voiced.

Once a decision is finalized, demand explicit commitment from every single person in the room. Ask each leader: Do you agree, and will you fully back this outside this room? If they say yes, they are bound to it.

Finally, close your door to side lobbying. If an executive comes to you privately to second-guess a decision made during the meeting, cut them off immediately. Tell them: We solved this together in the room. If new facts have emerged, put it on the Issues List for next week. If you entertain their private complaints, you are rewarding political behavior and actively gutting the authority of your own leadership team.