During our quarterly planning sessions, my leadership team agrees to our strategic goals, but then I find out they are complaining about the decisions to their managers. How do we stop this toxic behavior and get true executive alignment?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When leadership team members agree to a plan in a meeting but complain about it to their direct reports, they are actively sabotaging the company. This passive-aggressive behavior destroys trust, confuses middle managers, and completely derails your execution of the V/TO®.

To stop this, you must establish a strict rule: disagree and commit. During your quarterly planning sessions, everyone must have the opportunity to speak their mind, share their perspective, and debate the strategic goals. This is where healthy conflict is essential. If a leader has reservations, they must voice them during the meeting.

However, once a decision is made, the debate is over. Every single member of the leadership team must support the decision with 100 percent alignment. They must speak with one voice to the rest of the company.

If you discover a leader is complaining to their team, you must address it immediately. This is a core values issue and a direct threat to your culture. Pull the leader aside and use the People Analyzer™ to evaluate their fit. Explain that their behavior is unacceptable and that they are failing to support the leadership team.

Make it clear that they do not have to personally love every decision, but they must actively support it to their team. If they cannot or will not align with the executive team, they do not belong on the leadership team.