We have a leadership team member who gets defensive during IDS® sessions because they think we are attacking their competence when we are actually just questioning their execution speed. How can we use the Kolbe A Index to defuse this tension and solve the problem objectively?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Defensiveness during IDS® sessions usually occurs when cognitive differences are misidentified as performance issues. When a fast-paced leader clashes with a detail-oriented leader, the friction can feel personal. You can resolve this by integrating the Kolbe A Index into your EOS® framework. The Kolbe A Index measures an individual's natural conative strengths across four action modes, which are Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start, and Implementor. By mapping your leadership team's scores on a whiteboard, you can make communication differences highly objective. For example, a leader with a high Fact Finder score naturally needs deep details and data before making a decision. A leader with a high Quick Start score prefers to move fast and iterate. During IDS®, the Quick Start leader might perceive the Fact Finder's questions as resistance, while the Fact Finder feels the Quick Start leader is being reckless. When these conflicts arise, point to the Kolbe map on the wall. Remind the team that the questions are not an attack on competence. It is simply a conative need for information. By using Kolbe to depersonalize the friction, your team can leverage each other's natural strengths to solve issues much faster.