How can you use conflict to improve group performance?

As important as it is to identify conflict followed by its source, is identifying if it is positive or negative, helpful or destructive. Healthy conflict can be steered in positive directions when trust is present. The absence in trust, trust amongst team members and team members’ trust of their leadership is crucial in leveraging conflict to propel the organization, and its members, to new levels.

Transformando Conflictos en Oportunidades: Seguridad Psicológica Los equipos exitosos no solo valoran la diversidad de ideas, sino que también aprovechan el conflicto de manera constructiva. La seguridad psicológica es clave para este proceso, creando entornos donde la expresión libre de ideas se da sin temor a represalias. Facilitar la colaboración abierta, disuelve el miedo a errores, propicia la innovación y mejora la toma de decisiones. El conflicto, bien gestionado, cataliza el crecimiento del equipo. En mis 16 años de experiencia de liderazgo, respaldo que lo más relevante es la apertura a hablar sobre los errores, generar lecciones valiosas y fomentar una mentalidad de mejora continua, reflexionando sobre lo aprendido.

By learning effective listening, negotiation and communication skills, I can play a role as a mediator to resolve conflicts between group members.

Ter uma cultura onde há uma separação entre conflitos profissionais e relação interpessoal é de alta importância para transpor os conflitos em seu negócio, minimizando os efeitos colaterais. Lidar com seres humanos é complexo, e toda ação pode gerar um efeito cumulativo no longo prazo. Por isso é importante ser claro, objetivo e direto ao expressar sua visão perante um conflito, e buscar uma forma de separar a relação pessoal da relação profissional. Eu gosto de usar um espaço reservado para discutir pontos de desavença, como uma sala de reunião por exemplo, e assim que eu saio daquele ambiente eu costumo agir como se não tivesse vivenciado o conflito, demonstrando que não levei para o lado pessoal as desavenças profissionais.

In my experience, I've found three primary causes for conflict. There are many more, but these are at the top of the list: 1. Unrealized Expectations: This is the number one cause of conflict in my experience. It's important to set expectations early and check them often. 2. Different Opinions: Vive la différence. We're not the same. That's what makes interacting with people so exciting, enlightening, fulfilling, and challenging. 3. Poor communication: We humans delete, distort, and generalize when we speak. We do it for efficiency, but it can create gaping holes in the context we all need to understand one another. Add to that the subconscious non-verbal communication, and you have a recipe for conflict.

Identifying conflict is just the beginning; understanding its origin is crucial. Factors like communication breakdowns, differing opinions, or power struggles contribute to conflicts. Pinpointing these issues allows for a more targeted and effective approach to resolution.

A ocorrência de conflitos dentro da equipe demonstra que a personalidade dos colaboradores é diversa. Essa característica deve ser explorada de forma a buscar em cada colaborador o seu melhor de forma a compor com os demais a busca pelos objetivos e metas. A habilidade em manter a convivência amistosa e colaborativa entre todos para o atingimento das metas além de ser um desafio para o gestor, contribui muito para o desenvolvimento de suas habilidades como líder.

In diverse situations, I've come across conflicts from various perspectives. Categorizing the conflict into one of the 5 causes (Data/Facts, Interest, Relationship, Structural, Value - see C Moore) proved beneficial. Subsequently, taking a meta-level perspective on the conflict, the question emerges: "What is essential for the team to sustain collaboration?"

Understanding the distinctions between task and relationship conflict is key. Recognizing the potential benefits of task conflict and addressing relationship conflict can help maintain a healthy group dynamic.

From my experience, analyzing conflict in your organization is a very difficult task. As a manager, one has to remain impartial during most conflicts and develop ideas on how to resolve them quickly without people losing their face.

I agree but conflict can foster a collaborative problem-solving environment. The best ideas are seldom the unanimous ones. Encourage and manage communication through open dialogue and encourage engagement from all members to hear all perspectives. Individuals need to grow their interpersonal relationship skills by learning to resolve their own conflicts. Don’t delay a difficult conversation or put it off. Keep the conversations going!

Fostering group harmony and enhancing performance requires addressing conflicts directly and constructively. Successful conflict resolution entails open communication, active listening, empathy, and a collaborative spirit. Promote respectful expression of concerns among team members and encourage attentive listening to diverse perspectives. Facilitate collaborative problem-solving sessions to address conflict at its root.

High performing teams will have conflict. Usually it's over differences of opinion on certain things or personality differences within the group. In either case, acknowledging the individual perspectives is a key first step. Next, its important to refocus the groups energy on agreeing on the processes to achieve the team objectives and goals. By getting the group to focus on the process vs individual personality differences this can can create a path to harmony and positive momentum towards team success.

If steps 1 and 2 are in place, resolving conflict then becomes a matter of either adding incremental learning to a new situation, or practicing the analytical skills previously developed. The key is to avoid escalation at all costs. In my last post on mediation, I point out the translating role of the mediator. We should all engage in translation skills especially when conflict sets in. Most of my successful experiences stressed that role. Failure almost always was due to malformed conflict assumptions, lack of cooperation willingness from the other party or the fast escalation pace during the resolution attempt.

By identifying the conflict, also determine whether this might be a longer standing, "cold" conflict. "Cold" conflicts can't be solved as the relationship part of it is burried. Albeit painful sometimes, this needs to be unearthed, so it can be worked on. In my experience , conflicts need to be "warm" to become resolvable.

After addressing conflicts, it's crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of the resolution and its positive impact on the group. This assessment pinpoints areas for improvement, preventing unnecessary recurrence of conflicts. You could monitor the team's interactions, communication, and productivity to gauge the success of conflict resolution efforts. You could schedule follow-up meetings to address emerging concerns, and maintain conflict logs for long-term evaluation. You could also Integrate team-building activities to strengthen relationships and employ individual interviews for deeper insights.

Ongoing evaluation is crucial to refining conflict resolution strategies. Gathering feedback, reflecting on outcomes, and analyzing performance indicators provide valuable insights. This continuous learning process helps adapt and enhance group dynamics for more effective collaboration in the future.

Focus on the issue, not the person: Keep discussions professional and respectful, avoiding personal attacks or blaming individuals. Actively listen and empathize: Try to understand each other's perspectives and concerns before formulating your own responses. Communicate clearly and assertively: Express your views firmly but avoid aggression or interrupting others. Focus on finding solutions: Collaboratively brainstorm ways to overcome disagreements and reach a compromise that benefits the group as a whole. Establish ground rules for respectful engagement: Set clear expectations for communication and collaboration beforehand, ensuring everyone feels safe to voice their opinions without fear of judgement.

Using lateral thinking to find unconventional solutions and look at things from different angles. Using brainstorming to generate new and unconventional ideas to solve problems and conflicts. Use imagination and envision possible solutions and analyze their potential outcomes. Explore different options and try out possible solutions to achieve balance and harmony.

Conflict, when handled positively, becomes a powerful force for bringing out the best in a group. It's like a spice in a recipe, adding flavor and depth to the team dynamics. By allowing different opinions to surface, we tap into a wellspring of creativity and fresh ideas. Picture it as a lively discussion where disagreements are not roadblocks but stepping stones to better solutions. Ultimately, it's about turning clashes into opportunities for the group to evolve, learn, and thrive together.

Conflict is great! One of my very best working relationship started with someone saying “I am furious” 😂 When approached with mutual respect and an open mind, conflict is one of the best catalyst for finding great solutions and ultimately creating better collaboration. Yet, it is essential to: - Stay focused on the end objective 🎯 (generally internal/external client satisfaction) - Make a real effort to truly understand the other party’s point of view even if you don’t want to 😉 - Respect the person voicing it 🙏🏻 (both in and outside the meeting). Simply say “I see it differently because…x y z” - Equally, voice your own boundaries and don’t allow disrespect - Use “and” instead of “but” - Be flexible and focus on the end solution

You could argue that some level of conflict is not only healthy, but almost an essential requisite to building high performance teams. Based on Tuckman's Model for Nurturing a Team to High Performance, during a team build out each team goes through a STORMING phase where there’s arguments, conflicting opinions and misalignment - if navigated through, the team members not only understand each others strengths and weaknesses better but also establish cohesive working relationships as they kick on towards the NORMING and PERFORMING phases

Un conflit n'est pas systématiquement néfaste, dès lors qu'il permet l'expression d'un besoin ou d'un ressentiment, et permet de faire bouger les lignes et de partir sur des bases saines et constructives. En revanche, je suis moins convaincu par l'utilisation du conflit comme mode de management systématique, c'est à mon sens voué à l'échec sur le moyen ou long terme.

Firstly, the mindset around conflict needs to change. Conflict can be healthy and managed well can create powerful innovation. Conflict is a natural part of encouraging diverse perspectives from a variety of people with different backgrounds. It’s not bad. It becomes bad, poorly managed or through poor communication. It can become the platform to build trust, open peoples minds, break through limiting beliefs and stereotypes and foster collaboration that can be both healthy for the individuals and also the company. Companies should invest in teaching their people the tools to understand which conflict resolution style is appropriate in what setting and foster a culture where conflict is seen as an opportunity to learn and grow.