1. Three  areas of conflict:

Underwriting vs. Sales Tension
Sales producers want to close deals fast. Underwriters are focused on risk and compliance. I’ve seen producers get frustrated when underwriters delay quotes or ask for more documentation, and underwriters feel like sales is cutting corners just to hit numbers. It creates a dynamic that can feel personal if it’s not addressed openly.  Lots of joint meetings to resolve.

New Business vs. Retention Focus
There’s often internal conflict between producers chasing new business and service teams focused on retaining current accounts. When sales pushes aggressive timelines or promises things that service can’t deliver, it strains the relationship. Each side feels undervalued, sales thinks service is too slow, and service thinks sales doesn’t consider the long-term impact.

Compensation Disputes
Commission structures can get murky, especially when multiple people are involved in an account or a lead source is disputed. I’ve seen team members argue over who “owns” the sale or who should get paid what, which can turn collaborative teammates into quiet rivals if leadership doesn’t set clear rules.

2. What Did Leadership Do When These Conflicts Arose?

Underwriting vs. Sales Tension
Leadership stepped in by creating clear submission guidelines and holding weekly pipeline meetings between sales and underwriting. These gave both sides a chance to explain their priorities and frustrations. It didn’t fix everything overnight, but it helped people stop blaming and start collaborating.

New Business vs. Retention Focus
We eventually implemented joint KPIs that measured both new sales and retention success. Leadership also restructured workflows so service team members were looped into prospect conversations earlier and documented those conversations in our CRM this helped reduce surprises and finger-pointing later on.

Compensation Disputes
Leadership had to tighten up the commission attribution policy, making sure it was documented who “owned” an account and when handoffs occurred. We used current teammates who are influential to help us with the policy language. It taught us how crucial it is to get ahead of these situations with transparency, not just fix them after emotions run high.

3. What I Learned & What I’ll Do Differently

I’ve learned that most conflict comes from misalignment, not bad intentions. When roles, goals, or expectations aren’t clear, people fill in the gaps, usually with frustration.

Next time, I’ll get ahead of it by setting clearer expectations, soliciting input and feedback from team members (esp. influential ones), checking in more often, and asking questions instead of making assumptions. A little curiosity goes a long way in keeping things on track.