I have a leader who participates in our IDS® sessions and outwardly agrees to our decisions, but then tells their departmental team that they personally disagreed with the direction but were forced into it. How do I stop this passive-aggressive undermining of our leadership team's unity?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This behavior is a symptom of a deep trust deficit. When a leader distances themselves from leadership team decisions, they fracture the entire organization. Cracks at the leadership level appear as canyons to the rest of the company. In the EOS® framework, once a decision is made after healthy, unfiltered debate during IDS®, every member of the leadership team must walk out of that room with one voice.

You must address this immediately in a one-on-one meeting using the GWC™ tool. Explain that active alignment is non-negotiable. If they cannot support the decision externally, they are failing the Gets It, Wants It, and has the Capacity standard for their seat on the Accountability Chart.

To fix this systematically, implement a five-minute review at the end of every Level 10 Meeting™ and quarterly session. Ask the team: what are the key decisions we made today, and what is our unified message to the company? Write down the exact talking points. This leaves zero room for interpretation or side-channel communication.

If the leader continues to play the victim to their department, they are choosing to step off the team. Your leadership team must be a unified front to protect the culture and prepare the company for a clean exit.