Two teams in conflict.
Sales vs Marketing, Dev vs Ops, etc.
They’re supposed to work together, right?
Otherwise the org isn’t “firing on all cylinders.”
And what do we say the problem is?
“They don’t trust each other.”
But is that really it? (I don’t think so.)
Any diagnosis that describes the absence of a particular solution (“trust”), rather than describing an actual problem, is suspicious.
What real, underlying problem is the “trust” solution supposed to address?
Here’s my guess: It’s unwelcome surprise.
“So there I was, just trying to do my job, and WHAM, the other team hit me with an unwelcome surprise. Those jerks!”
And what concrete solutions other than “trust” might address that problem?
Here’s one I’d propose: End surprise. Be predictable. (Even if they don’t like what you’re doing, at least they’ll know it’s coming.)
What problems do you diagnose during inter-team conflict?
What solutions other than “trust” could you imagine?
With ❤️,
David and Ben
StrategyTeaming.com
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