Situation Finder

Tensions in the Top Team

The leadership team is misaligned, teams work past each other. Conflicts block any forward movement.

How It Shows

Board meetings end without genuine alignment
Conflicts are handled bilaterally, never within the full team
Individual board members pursue diverging agendas
The organization senses the tensions, even when no one names them

Typical Patterns

Unspoken power struggles masked as substantive disagreements
No shared problem definition — each leader is solving a different problem
The CEO moderates instead of leading
Coalition-building replaces collective decision-making

What Needs to Be Decided Now

Is there a shared understanding of the current situation — yes or no?
Which tensions are productive and which are destructive?
Does the team need external facilitation or internal resolution?

Tensions in the top team do not resolve through facilitation.

They resolve through clarity about the actual decision at stake.

In the Compass

This situation touches 2 dimensions

Systemic Leadership

From control to enablement

Explore dimension →

High-Impact Teams

Ability, willingness, permission

Explore dimension →

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