Workplace Conflict – a liability or asset?
The answer is up to each leader!
Conflicts arise because there are needs, styles, values or ideas that are seen to be different. A leader can allow these differences in a team to inhibit progress. Or a leader can harness these same differences and drive better and more innovative solutions.
On the liability side, conflict costs US companies $359B annually. It costs 2.8 hours a week per person on average in lost productivity (CPP Inc. study).
On the asset side, 75% of organizations with frontline decision-making teams reflecting a diverse and inclusive culture will exceed their financial targets. (Gartner article)
What does workplace conflict look like?
Are you seeing leakage in your organization from conflict or are you experiencing competitive advantage? Look at behaviors to guide your answer.
According to the above CPP study, the top causes of workplace conflict are personality clashes and warring egos followed by stress and workload. Difference in values are also a major cause. Left unmanaged, an organization will likely see some or all of these destructive conflict behaviors:
Withdrawing
Sarcasm
Passive-aggression
Defensiveness
Becoming overly dramatic or hypercritical
Sabotage
Instead if you are seeing these productive behaviors, your organization is likely leveraging conflict as an asset.
Listening to understand
Separating emotions from fact
Staying open
Communicating respectfully
Questioning with curiosity
Saying sorry
4 Steps to Transforming Conflict into Collective Genius
Studies show that training and practice in recognizing conflict, the ability to choose a productive response when in conflict and using conflict intentionally moves conflict from a liability to an asset. In the above mentioned CPP Inc. study, for those receiving training, 85% changed their approach to conflict and 76% have seen conflict lead to a positive outcome.
1. Leader Learns – the leader must become self-aware and then learn how to self-manage. The leader needs to be able to name what triggers conflict in them self and what defensive behaviors may follow naturally. Then they need to learn and practice choosing more effective behaviors during their conflict situations.
2. Team Learns – Team members should learn the same as above. Plus, as a team, they become aware of the current team conflict culture and what aspects help or inhibit the team’s progress.
3. Ground Rules Created – a best practice is for the team to cooperatively develop and agree to a set of ground rules on how they will debate, challenge and explore productively different perspectives to maximize their collective genius.
4. Leader Harnesses Conflict – The leader should view this as an ongoing cycle of conflict/separating/unifying/separating/reunifying. Continuous maintenance is needed as new challenges arise or team make-up changes.
Collective Genius Multiplies Your Impact
When a leader is aware of differences, behaves inclusively and facilitates conflict, they create deeper connections. This allows the space for everyone’s best to be tapped. There will be palpable energy in the room. Better solutions result. Unleashing this collective genius will have a multiplier effect on impact.
MBM ELEVATE is ready to explore with you how your organization can turn conflict into an asset and multiply your impact.
Mary Beth Molloy
Certified Executive Coach and Business Consultant, she delivers uncanny focus on the intersection of your business vision and goals and the leaders you’ve entrusted to achieve them.
She knows what it takes to accelerate and elevate business results through leadership development and performance. It’s her powerful blend of these experiences together with her practicality, purpose, and positivity that drive our value.
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