Encouraging Conflict

So why would anyone want to encourage conflict?  Below we talk about the following aspects of Encouraging Conflict:

• Why Encouraging Conflict is Good
• Warning Signs that your team doesn’t have enough conflict
• Steps to Encouraging Conflict
• Three Things to Remember about Encouraging Conflict

Why Encouraging Conflict is Good

Teams that don’t have enough conflict run the risk of sub-optimizing their performance.

• Conflict often extracts the best ideas.  Discussion that involves respectful disagreement yields results and insights that would not otherwise surface.
• By Encouraging Conflict crucial topics get addressed and real solutions  are discussed and determined.
• Encouraging Conflict stifles the “pocket veto” and backroom politics.  It ensures that disagreement and dissent occur within the meeting, rather than outside it.

Warning Signs that Your Team Doesn’t Have Enough Conflict

• Your meetings are BORING.  If everyone always agrees, then you may need to do a better job of Encouraging Conflict.
• Back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive.  Without Encouraging Conflict, the meeting ends, and then the real discussion takes place without all the players at the table.
• Your team avoids controversial topics even when they are critical to team success.
• Silence is viewed as agreement … and many team members remain silent.  If your team meetings are very quiet, you may need to Encouraging Conflict.

Steps to Encouraging Conflict

• Create a safe environment by starting with Team Trust.  If there is a low level of trust amongst team members, you will not be about to Encouraging Conflict.
• Seek out alternative viewpoints by asking for them.
• As the leader, hold back on your opinions for a time, and encourage hearing from others.
• Assign a meeting role of “devils advocate”.  By having a person assigned to disagree, more issues will be put on the table.

Three Things to Remember About Encouraging Conflict:

1. Although we have advocated that some conflict can be productive, not all conflict is, so be careful not to over do it.
2. Build your team with diversity in mind.  If you select people for your team that always agree with you, it will be very difficult to Encouraging Conflict.
3. Attack the problem, not the solution or even the idea.  Make sure conflict is never personal.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Encouraging Conflict (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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