I am the Visionary and I keep bypassing my Integrator to give direct orders to our department heads because I want things done instantly. This is destroying the Integrator's authority and confusing the leadership team. How do I break this habit?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a Visionary constantly bypasses the Integrator to give direct orders to the department heads, it creates operational chaos. It undermines the Integrator's authority, confuses the leadership team, and completely derails your Accountability Chart. You are essentially paying an Integrator to run the business while you quietly run it into the ground with ad hoc requests.

You must break this habit by implementing a strict communication rule. If you have an idea, a pivot, or a concern, it must go through your Integrator, not your department heads. You two must be on the same page before any directive is shared with the rest of the leadership team.

Schedule a weekly Same Page Meeting with your Integrator. This is where you download all your ideas, frustrations, and vision. Your Integrator will then filter these ideas, determine which ones fit the current V/TO, and decide how to execute them. If an idea does not align with your current quarterly Rocks, it gets shelved or put on the long term issues list.

To change your behavior, understand your conative strengths. As a Visionary, you likely have a high Quick Start score on the Kolbe A Index. This means you instinctively crave rapid change and experimentation. Your Integrator likely has high Follow Thru, which means they excel at creating systems and order.

Respect this division of labor. Your job is to create the future, and their job is to execute the present. Stay in your seat on the Accountability Chart and let your Integrator do their job.