Why Sales and Operations So Often Work Against Each Other – and How to Change it

In many organizations, the tension between sales and operations is almost expected.

Sales is pushing for growth. Operations is protecting delivery. Sales wants speed. Operations wants stability.

And somewhere in between, friction builds.

This dynamic is especially visible in people-intensive businesses—but it exists everywhere. When left unexamined, it quietly erodes trust, performance, and margin.

The issue isn’t that one side is right and the other is wrong. The issue is that sales and operations often don’t understand each other—and leadership doesn’t help them try.

Different Roles. Different Wiring. Same Goal.

Sales and operations leaders are often wired very differently.

Sales leaders tend to be:

• Big-picture thinkers

• Influential and relationship-driven

• Energetic, expressive, and externally focused

• Motivated by momentum, opportunity, and results

They thrive in rooms full of people. They bounce back quickly from rejection. They are comfortable with ambiguity and energized by possibility.

Operations leaders, on the other hand, are often:

• Practical and execution-focused

• Systems-oriented

• Grounded in process, standards, and consistency

• Deeply attuned to risk, capacity, and people management

They live in the details. They protect quality. They feel the weight of what it takes to deliver on promises every day.

Neither profile is better. Both are essential.

Yet many organizations treat these differences as problems to fix rather than strengths to manage.

Where the Friction Begins

Conflict often arises because each side experiences the business through a different lens.

Sales leaders can become frustrated when operations pushes back on timelines, commitments, or capacity—without fully appreciating the complexity of delivering the product or service.

Operations leaders can become frustrated when sales focuses solely on numbers—without acknowledging the operational realities, staffing challenges, or system constraints required to fulfill those commitments.

Over time, assumptions form:

• “Sales doesn’t understand how hard this is.”

• “Operations doesn’t get what it takes to grow.”

Those assumptions harden into silos. Silos turn into resistance. And resistance turns into underperformance.

The Truth Leaders Must Acknowledge

Sales and operations don’t work against each other because they’re misaligned in intent.

They work against each other because they are misaligned in understanding.

Sales leaders are often not wired to live in spreadsheets, systems, or dashboards—and that’s okay. Their strength lies in relationships, influence, and momentum.

Operations leaders are often not energized by constant selling or external rejection—and that’s also okay. Their strength lies in building systems, managing people, and ensuring consistency.

Trying to make one role behave like the other doesn’t improve performance. It usually weakens both.

Support the Differences—Don’t Fight Them

High-performing organizations do something different.

They acknowledge the differences between sales and operations and design support around them.

That means:

• Helping sales leaders stay focused on what they do best, while building systems that support—not suffocate—them

• Helping operations leaders protect standards and execution, while giving them visibility into growth goals and market realities

• Creating shared language instead of competing narratives

Great operations leaders who work well with sales understand this: Sales professionals may be emotional, expressive, ego-driven, or high-energy—and that’s not a flaw. It’s part of what makes them effective.

Great sales leaders who work well with operations understand this: Systems, procedures, customer experience, and people management are not obstacles to growth—they are what make growth sustainable.

A Shared Language Changes the Conversation

One of the most effective ways sales and operations leaders begin to understand one another is through personality frameworks like DISC.

Not because labels solve problems—but because they give teams a neutral, shared language to describe how people think, communicate, and respond under pressure.

DISC helps leaders recognize patterns:

• Sales leaders often operate with high Influence—energized by people, conversation, momentum, and connection

• Operations leaders often lead with high Dominance or Conscientiousness—focused on structure, standards, accuracy, and execution

Neither style is right or wrong. Each is necessary.

What DISC does exceptionally well is remove judgment from the conversation. Instead of saying:

• “They’re too emotional.”

• “They’re too rigid.”

• “They don’t get it.”

Teams can say:

• “That’s how they’re wired.”

• “Here’s what they need to perform at their best.”

• “Here’s how we adjust how we communicate.”

When leaders use shared language, defensiveness drops. Understanding increases. Alignment becomes possible.

DISC doesn’t change people—but it helps teams stop trying to change each other and start supporting one another more effectively.

Bottom Line

Sales and operations are two engines of the same organization.

One drives momentum. The other sustains it.

Organizations don’t struggle because these engines exist—they struggle when leaders fail to align them, understand them, and support how they work best.

When leaders embrace differences, use shared language, and design support intentionally, alignment follows.

And alignment is what turns effort into results.

Results into growth.

And growth into sustained performance.