How Does Your Organization Deal With Conflict?

When you think of the word conflict, does it have a negative connotation? In your organization’s desire to achieve a positive climate, is conflict something that everyone tries to avoid? When multiple people have differing ideas do you create a compromise that attempts to satisfy everyone, but never satisfies anyone? Does your organization sweep aside disagreements while they fester under the surface until they boil to the surface with an “I told you so….”, or do people just shake their heads, move on and become disengaged?  

 Two of my favorite authors Patrick Lencioni author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and Peter Senge author of The Fifth Discipline, encourage conflict. That’s right, they encourage productive conflict to solve problems and to find the best solutions to the challenges facing an organization.  

 Before we go any further, when I use the word “conflict” I am talking about a productive difference in ideological approaches rather than the personal attacks characterized by destructive actions and interpersonal politics. Lencioni tells us that a group engaged in productive conflict can still bring the same levels of “passion, emotion and frustration” to the topic, that someone could mistake it for intrapersonal or unproductive discord.  It is natural that people who are deeply engaged in their work will bring passion to what they do.  The key is engaging in conflict the right way.

AVOIDING CONFLICT

Have you ever been in a situation where things were not going to plan and everyone stayed on the course anyway? Maybe it was because no one wanted to tell the boss. Maybe no one knew how to tell the boss in a way that would generate the appropriate change. Maybe the leadership did not want to hear that things were not going well and everyone knew it. Have you ever felt as if you were living in your version of the fable The Emperor’s New Clothes?  

As human beings, we naturally want to work together and to get along with the group.  Saying something contrary to a popular position is fraught with the risk, of becoming unpopular, being wrong or even becoming an outcast.  The thought of conflict brings up feelings of discomfort and a sense of anxiety in most people.  The word conflict has a negative connotation that we associate with, pain and damage.  

WHAT CAN GO WRONG?

Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline (1990, p. 234) tells us something many of us know intuitively, that an unaligned team typically wastes energy. While there are individuals who make extraordinary efforts, there is rarely enough commonality of purpose or direction for those efforts to translate into a coherent team effort. On the other hand, when there is a commonality of purpose, or a shared vision, where members know how to complement each other’s efforts and the group resonates together. This shared purpose works much the same way, laser light is focused and bright.  

 Senge tells us that mediocre teams are characterized by either the appearance of no conflict on the surface (everyone appears to agree), or the organization is rigidly polarized. In the case of no apparent conflict, members suppress contrary ideas or questions to maintain the appearance of alignment but movement is slow or non-existent. Within the rigidly polarized organization, a few managers (not leaders) will speak up and there is little movement because the deeply entrenched positions refuse to yield.  

Have you ever seen this in your organization? Projects die a slow agonizing death, time is wasted, talent leaves, and frustration simmers just below the surface. When organizations avoid necessary and productive conflict, dysfunction begins to thrive.  

IS HEALTHY CONFLICT A REAL THING?

It is ironic, says Patrick Lencioni, that avoiding healthy conflict in the name of efficiency or the appearance of harmony wastes time and other resources. Avoiding conflict causes organizations to revisit the same issues repeatedly with no resolution.  

Senge says that great teams are “not characterized by the absence of conflict. On the contrary, one of the most reliable indicators of a team that is continually learning is the visible conflict of ideas. In great teams, conflict becomes productive. (Senge, 1990, p. 249)” Great teams often have a conflict around the organization’s vision, or how to reach the vision. The process of resolving the conflict is where organizations tend to develop a shared vision and members buy into the process. When organizations engage in healthy and productive conflict the members feel heard, and they can commit to decisions.  

ENCOURAGING HEALTHY CONFLICT

Leaders should acknowledge that conflict is a productive method for resolving a variety of challenges. 

Team members must have permission if not encouragement to disagree with one another and professionally challenge each other’s positions. Members must be willing to let go of preferred solutions in the face of facts, and a shared vision of the future.  

 The free flow of ideas and active dialogue can bring many important issues to the surface. However, when dominant personalities emerge, some of the most important contributions may not surface. Personality profiles such as Wiley’s DiSC® on Catalyst can help identify members who have reserved communication styles and provide techniques for helping more of these members contribute to the solution.  

 Leaders must enforce rules for healthy conflict, and still allow it to take place. At times, conflict can be uncomfortable and voices may begin to rise.  As a leader you must ensure that the environment remains respectful while giving members permission to disagree. Authors Lencioni and Senge both tell us that healthy conflict takes practice, but it is necessary to become a high-performing organization.  

LEADERS SPEAK LAST

One of the fastest ways a leader can skew the dialogue is to voice their preference for a given outcome before everyone has spoken. Knowing which way the boss is leaning will cause some members to withhold information and others may be inclined to jump on the bandwagon. Some leaders rely on a facilitator because they know even their non-verbal cues can influence the dialogue.   

PARTING QUESTIONS TO PONDER

• How does your organization deal with conflict?

• Do you need help learning how to manage healthy conflict?

• Does everyone get a voice at the table or do a few people drive the discussion?

• Do you have a method to identify the organizational members who are reserved and soft-spoken?

• If you need help with any of the items mentioned above, I would be happy to have a conversation with you.

REFERENCES

Lencioni, P. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday.