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Making Office Conflict Pay Off
Posted: November 9th, 2007 @ 6:59pm
Source: Source: Jim Boomer, “Using Conflict as a Strategic Asset.” , June 26, 2007.
Ever feel that it’s easier to make a decision than to struggle with the bickering involved in “teamwork”? This is because each team member sees things differently. But five different viewpoints can also mean five unique approaches to solving knotty problems, increasing the likelihood of finding a solution.
In other words, some kinds of conflict can pay off for you, but other kinds can grind everything to a halt.
Productive Conflict Task conflict, that is, disagreements about the best way to tackle a task, leads to better informed decisions. The more ideas and opinions you have about a problem, the more options you have for solving it and the less likely you are to overlook the best solution.
Nonproductive Conflict Relational conflict, that is, personality animosity and political infighting, can undermine a meeting, pull a discussion off track and prevent finding the best way to proceed. Here’s how you can help task conflict to flourish while stymieing relational conflict: - Keep meetings focused on issues and facts. Show respect for differences of opinion and help people work through them.
- When people debate (i.e., disagree)encourage openness. You might say, “This is good; we’re bringing out a lot of possibilities.”
- Protect minority opinions. If an idea that the group quickly dismisses has any merit, or is from someone considered “unimportant,” you might say, “Well, I think Jane has brought out a very interesting point.” Then mention why the idea should be given consideration or how it sheds light on another idea.
- When a comment is personal, or seems to be an innuendo, put the discussion back on track. You might say, “Let’s stay focused on _______ because we still haven’t come up with a solution.”
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