Team Leadership Success: Tuning Conflict Into Opportunity

Roberta Hill says 14 January 2010

Duncan,

Your post gives some good starters on how to allow for conflict to be raised and discussed. I would begin with the point that conflict is not only necessary but good It is the leader’s job to hold that tension and make it OK.

Here is a quote from the work of Pat Lencioni (5 Dysfunctions of a Team) who really sees conflict as more than an opportunity but a necessity:
“Dealing with conflict: If you have a marriage where you don’t argue, you don’t have a good marriage. Great relationships are built on the ability to disagree—even passionately. Great teams debate things.”

And another quote from this blog post:
https://workingknowledge.com/blog/?p=1065

Peter Drucker recounted how Alfred P. Sloan, legendary CEO of GM, handled this:
“Gentlemen, I take it we are all in complete agreement on the decision here,” Sloan said. After everyone around the table nodded affirmatively, Sloan continued: “Then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about.”

Roberta

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