We need to make a tough right-person-right-seat call on our VP of Sales, but the leadership team is defensive and holding back their true thoughts during our IDS® sessions. How do we build the trust required to have an honest discussion?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A leadership team that holds back during a right-person-right-seat discussion suffers from a lack of vulnerability-based trust. When team members are defensive, they are prioritizing their personal comfort over the health of the organization.

To break through this barrier, you must apply the principles from the Trusted Advisor Fieldbook by Charles H. Green. Trust is built through personal connection and risk-taking. As the leader, you must go first by exhibiting vulnerability. Admit your own apprehensions about making this call and acknowledge the emotional weight of the situation.

Frame the conversation around the Trust Equation, focusing on reducing self-absorption. Remind the team that this evaluation is not a personal attack on the VP of Sales. It is an objective analysis of whether they GWC™ the seat and fit our core values.

Use the People Analyzer™ during your session. This tool removes emotion by forcing everyone to rate the individual against your stated core values and seat roles with a simple plus, plus-minus, or minus.

Encourage your team to speak their truth by asking high-value questions: What is the cost to our culture and our exit valuation if we leave this seat underperforming for another six months? By shifting the focus to the long-term impact on the business, you lower the emotional stakes and give your team the psychological safety to make the hard, correct call.