80. Conflict Is Good

Conflict is good? Yes, conflict is good. Without conflict, people become bored, complacent, or stagnant. With conflict, people have the opportunity to grow and develop. Conflict may arise when there is poor communication, a misunderstanding, or a disagreement among people. When handled poorly or ignored, the relationships of those involved will continue to deteriorate, leading to poor decisions, tension, and a complete breakdown in communication. When handled in a positive manner, conflict resolution can strengthen relationships, increase productivity, enthuse people, promote the flow of new ideas, and increase understanding and knowledge.

Performance Prompts

• Conflict is a normal component of relationships and should be welcome. In very productive teams, conflict often arises when people are creative, productive, and feel passionate about their work.

• Effective conflict resolution releases pent up emotions, such as anger or jealousy, which strengthens relationships.

• Effective conflict resolution gets people back on track, which increases productivity.

• Effective conflict resolution opens the door to the process of creative thinking, which enthuses people.

• Effective conflict resolution clears up confusion, which promotes the flow of new ideas.

• Effective conflict resolution paves the way to improved communication, which increases understanding and knowledge.

When This Happens ...

As team leader, you communicate with your group daily; lead your group by modeling correct behavior; foster a supportive environment; work to maintain a cohesive team; observe what is going on; provide feedback that is focused, specific, and timely; and hold regular meetings to solve problems, train, and keep everyone motivated. You feel you are doing everything right, yet you become aware of a conflict within the team. Whenever you are away, you ask Dave to take over as team leader. He is the top performer on your team, gets along well with everyone, and is respected by the group. He is your obvious choice to step up as team leader. Lately, you noticed some of your team members making comments behind his back. Today, you heard someone make a snide comment to Dave about not pulling his share of the work. You know he does more than his share and cannot understand why the group is turning on him.

Try This

You feel uncomfortable about this situation. If you side with Dave you may further alienate your team. You could rotate everyone on the team to be team leader, but you decide Dave is the top performer and deserves this reward. You have two choices: ignore the comments and hope they go away or deal with the conflict. What do you think will happen if you ignore the comments?

View every conflict as an opportunity to improve and strengthen relationships.