How to Make Team Conflict Productive
Turn Conflict into a Productive Not Destructive Experience
Nov 18, 2008
When team members share a common goal and a sense of success, and generally feel positive about their work, conflict is more likely to be viewed as productive -- people having different views and opinions – than destructive. On the other hand, failure often creates conflict, especially when people react by blaming each other rather than taking responsibility for their own actions.
In the middle of conflict, team members respond by pulling back and protecting themselves. They stop sharing information, helping each other out and talking openly. These behaviours add to the initial problem, leading to a vicious cycle of destructive actions.
The challenge for leaders is to minimize destructive conflict while encouraging constructive disagreement and open debate. The following are some ways to help with that challenge.
Discuss Priorities
Leaders should encourage team members to openly articulate individual and team priorities. This decreases the number of hidden agendas and helps everyone in the team be more aware of what is critical to each team member and why.
Develop Conflict Management Skills
Evaluating team members on how they handle conflict and difficult situations is very useful. While some embrace conflict and work towards finding a solution, others avoid conflict or get stuck on the problem instead of focusing on the solution. This should be included in the performance management process and individual feedback should be provided as soon as possible.
Change Perspectives
Leaders should ask team members who are in disagreement to consider other viewpoints, switch perspectives, and argue the other person’s point of view.
Avoid Blaming
Team members should be encouraged to focus on solutions without blaming others. Who did what is less important than what they are going to do about it. Also, team members should avoid forming cliques to complain about problems that should in fact be discussed openly.
Be Future Focused
Being intent on finding a solution also means shifting one's focus from the past to the future. When people shift their focus to the future, they become more positive and less resistant. It’s not about what they should have done differently (i.e., they did something wrong), but rather it’s about what they can do differently in the future to achieve a different outcome.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
In many cases, conflict is brought about by miscommunication. To avoid being misunderstood, people should explain their actions before others start speculating and creating their own interpretations of what they did, said or why.
Build Strong Relationships
Checking in with team members to find out how they are doing is key. So is getting to know them in relaxed, informal situations. Building friendly and open relationships can help lay the foundation for resolving conflicts when they arise.
Acknowledge the Positive
Leaders should make “good news” a recurring agenda item for their team meetings. The team should celebrate successes and recognize individuals for their achievements. This is especially important when the team is highly goal-oriented and critical.
Any team can get off track and veer towards trouble when conflict takes over. But what makes a difference between teams that derail and those that do not is monitoring the amount and type of conflict, and dealing with it right away so that it does not become destructive.
On the other hand, if there is never any conflict among team members, or if conflict is avoided at all costs, the team loses its ability to critically evaluate itself and its work. Team members who get along very well can also fall into the trap of wasting time chatting or joking excessively when there is work to be done. If this is the case, the team needs to establish ground rules around a more balanced approach to work and play.
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