Q. An effective organization experiences little conflict.
TrueFalse
Q. Conflict is destructive to team unity.
Q. To preserve unity, we should avoid conflict when possible.
While avoiding conflict might be better for our personal health and wellbeing, it's not necessarily best for our companies. As much as we'd like them to be true, each of the above statements is false.
The absence of conflict is not a measure of the effectiveness of an organization or team. In fact, research on team effectiveness demonstrates that teams that experience no conflict are less creative, less committed and less productive. Conflict is a necessary by-product of bringing bright, committed, creative thinkers together in any organization if we want our teams, and the individuals that comprise them, to produce to their potential.
In many organizations, however, attempts to stifle or deny conflict leave unresolved problems and feelings simmering. The resulting frustration, tension and anger often resurface and lower morale and efficiency. Over the long term the cost of unresolved organizational conflict is high turnover, lower productivity, cynicism, mistrust and withdrawal.
So conflict is good, but it needs to be resolved in ways that make outcomes better. A common pitfall of managing through conflict is focusing on positions. If we can get past positions we can get to solutions. And the first step is recognizing and isolating the problem.
The Problem:
A Focus on Positions
When differences arise over any issue, individuals tend to take positions. They are either for or against an issue: the expanded budget, the new market strategy, etc. Discussions focus on those positions, with various parties making arguments that demonstrate why their position is right.
In this competitive model of conflict resolution, if my view is right, then your view must be wrong. These discussions, focused on positions, tend to follow a downward spiral; egos and emotions become entwined in positions in ways that often cause irreparable damage to working relationships.
Creative Solutions to the Problem:
Create a Process for Managing Conflict. If conflict is healthy and inevitable, and denying it or stifling it is likely to produce bigger problems, an organization or team needs a process and skills to deal with conflict effectively.
Ground rules will help anticipate conflict before it arises, and develop processes to handle it in constructive ways, before emotions are high and egos are involved. Examples of ground rules include:
A facilitator, someone who does not have a vested interest in the outcome of the discussion can enforce the ground rules and keep the group on task as defined by their agenda. Being explicit in these ways about how you plan to discuss an issue, and getting group buy-in to that process, minimizes any surprise or feeling that people have been railroaded.
Clarify Interests, Not Positions. Whenever people take positions, there are interests underlying those positions: the basic needs, wants, desires, fears and concerns of the key parties. Understand those interests by asking "WHY?":
Elicit and record the interests surrounding the issues that are in conflict.
Brainstorm Options Without Commitment. Once all interests have been elicited, the group can identify common interests and use them to brainstorm options, which are possible proposals for agreement that will meet the interests of all parties.
To encourage creativity the following ground rules should be in effect while brainstorming options: all options are recorded, no option may be criticized or evaluated and the team may not decide to accept or reject any option. Only after the brainstorming session is over should you begin to evaluate which options best meet the interests of the people or organizations involved.
Use Criteria: Independent Standards of Legitimacy. Suppose there are three good options on the table. How should the team decide among them? To ensure that individuals feel the decision among options is legitimate and fair, use benchmarks that are independent of the will of any individuals.
To the extent that there is hard data, or independent expertise which serves as a basis for proposing and deciding among options, individuals are more likely to feel the outcome is legitimate and that they were fairly treated, regardless of the choice.
Consider Alternatives to Agreement. Is there a way to satisfy individual interests and team interests without reaching agreement? If the budget is a problem, might the team ask others to partner in funding the initiative. Develop an alternative plan to satisfy your interests if, despite your best efforts, no agreement is possible with the team.
Maintain an Effective Working Relationship. An effective working relationship is one in which individuals can deal with differences and regardless of the outcome maintain trust, mutual respect and good communication. Easy to describe; much harder to achieve. Some helpful tips:
Craft a Sufficient, Operational and Realistic Commitment. An organization or team is ill-equipped to reach an agreement until it understands the interests of all parties, has evaluated individual and group alternatives to agreement, and has used a communication process designed to elicit interests and generate options while maintaining or enhancing the working relationship between individuals.
The commitment you agree to must be sufficient to deal with the main interests of the parties. It should be operational: everyone understands who is going to do what by when; and realistic: what has been agreed to is possible and can be done.
Using the advice in this article to anticipate and develop processes to manage conflict in a healthy way directly affects a company's bottom line. Energy and dollars are focused on achieving company or team goals rather than turf battles and power struggles.
Author: Irma Tyler-Wood
Irma Tyler-Wood is founder of Ki ThoughtBridge where she consults nationally and internationally with corporate, government and other public sector clients in resolving complex, high stakes disputes.