Why Senior Leadership Teams Clash and How to Fix It

Walk into any department, and you’ll often notice a shared style. Accounting is owl territory—where precision, logic, and a strong appreciation for spreadsheets reign supreme.

Head over to HR, and you’ll find mostly Doves and Parrots—warm and enthusiastic greetings, supportive conversations, a people-first energy.

It makes sense. People with similar personality styles are drawn to the same kind of work.

But the senior leadership team is where everything changes.

It’s not surprising to find an executive team with a wild mix of DISC styles, that I refer to as Eagles, Parrots, Doves, and Owls. They don’t think the same. They don’t talk the same. They don’t lead the same.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how each style might lead:

• Eagles drive results, move fast, and want decisions now.
• Parrots inspire with vision, energy, and contagious optimism.
• Doves seek harmony, listen well, and keep the human side front and center.
• Owls bring analysis, structure, and a deep need to get it right.

And while that diversity of styles could be their strength, it often causes more frustration than alignment.

Here’s why: Each department tends to be led by leaders with similar styles. But the senior team is made up of heads of each department, and those styles vary greatly. In turn:

• The Eagle COO sees the Dove CHRO as soft or indecisive.
• The Owl CFO feels overwhelmed by the Parrot CMO’s ideas and lack of follow-through.
• The Parrot thinks everyone’s too serious and negative.
• The Dove feels quietly discouraged that no one’s playing nicely.

Each person communicates in a different personality language. No wonder they aren’t hearing each other.

Together, this group could be unstoppable. But only if they understand that different isn’t wrong; it’s just… different.

The key to making it all work is acceptance and adaptability.

A truly high-performing leadership team consists of leaders who understand their own style, recognize others’, and adapt to meet people where they are.

That’s what Personality Intelligence is all about.

It’s not just self-awareness; it’s the skill of flexing your style to connect more effectively. When every member of your leadership team has this skill, trust builds faster, better decisions are made, and an engaging culture is created.

Ready to Bring Personality Intelligence to Your Leadership Team?

If your senior team feels like they’re pulling in different directions, it might not be about experience, goals, or process; it might just be about their styles.

About the Author
Merrick Rosenberg is the author of Personality Intelligence: Master the Art of Being You, The Chameleon, and many other books for adults, students, and kids. He is the creator of the Eagle, Parrot, Dove, and Owl personality approach. As an award-winning speaker and President of Take Flight Learning, Merrick teaches people how to understand themselves and others through the lens of personality, because when you know your style, you unlock your path.