Teamwork is not always a happy and harmonious endeavor.
But a certain level of disagreement and tension is good.
We all know what conflict aversion looks like: ballooning priorities because no one says “no;” meetings-after-the meeting to “take if offline” for fear of debate; and inefficient workarounds to accommodate an under-performing team member.
Frustration festers and resentment builds until productivity grinds to a halt and progress suffers.
Conflict avoidance is bad for business. But not having enough conflict is also bad.
The best companies promote productive conflict but it’s not easy.
We’re taught to be polite at an early age. We want to get along and be liked.
To get productive conflict, you need to create an expectation that there will be (and should be) tensions on your team. That’s according to Liane Davey, team effectiveness advisor and author of the “The Good Fight.”
She says great teams should actually articulate what healthy and productive tensions look like. Sales and Operations should have tension between them. Development and delivery should be pushing one another.
Here’s how to normalize productive conflict. Draw a circle and draw wedges for each role in your company or on your team and then ask:
1) What’s most important to this team member in their role? What’s the value of that role?
2) What’s the focus of this role? Who does it serve? How is success defined?
3) What is the most common tension this role puts on team discussions? What does the person in this role say that frequently makes others bristle?
When team members gain a better perspective of individual roles and responsibilities, personality friction is replaced with healthy role-based tension.
Productive conflict is a feature of healthy teams, not a failure.
So stop avoiding it and start normalizing it to get more done and drive the results you want.
Have a great week.
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