We have a leadership team member who claims they trust their peers but constantly audits and double-checks other departments' work, causing massive resentment. How do we stop this peer-to-peer micromanagement and restore trust?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Trust on a leadership team is not about being polite; it is vulnerability-based trust. When a leader constantly audits and double-checks their peers, they are demonstrating a lack of trust that creates friction and slows down operations. This behavior signals to the rest of the organization that the leadership team is fractured.

This issue must be brought directly to the Level 10 Meeting™ table. Use the IDS® process to address the behavior. Ask the auditing leader to explain the root cause of their concern. Is there a genuine performance gap in the other department, or is this an issue of control?

If there is an actual performance issue, it must be tracked on the scorecard or solved through clear cross-departmental Rocks. If there is no performance gap, the behavior must stop immediately.

Every leader must have absolute ownership of their seat on the Accountability Chart. If a peer is constantly reaching into another seat to manage the work, they are violating the boundaries of the chart.

Remind the team that cracks at the leadership level appear as canyons to the rest of the company. If the leadership team cannot trust each other to execute their roles, the departments below them will quickly silo off and begin pointing fingers. Force the conversation, define the boundaries of each seat, and hold the micromanaging leader accountable to staying in their own lane.