Financial and time pressures, disparate promotional pathways, geographic separation, and difficulty acknowledging personal fallibility can contribute to polarization of clinician-educators and investigators in general internal medicine (GIM). As a consequence, clinician-educators and investigators may fail to use their joint expertise, may encounter friction in their relationships, and may present a troubled image to trainees considering careers in GIM. We suggest specific strategies that clinician-educators, investigators, administrative leaders, and medical schools might use to foster collaboration.