Most people avoid conflict because conflict presents uncertainty. Our thought process goes something like this: “This might turn out well, but it might turn out poorly, and I’d rather stick with the status quo than take that risk.” That’s rational, but if you’re a leader you need to push against that tendency, because conflict is good in your business, and more specifically in your meetings. If you don’t create the right type of conflict, you’ll rob your team of three big benefits:
1. Team strengthening: When a muscle experiences repeated tension, it incurs micro-tears, tiny bits of damage that grow back stronger than the original fiber. When your team gets into tense situations, individuals fight for their positions, challenge each other, and sometimes bruise egos. Those uncomfortable situations build stronger teams that know how to argue enthusiastically but not take it personally. And that leads to the second benefit:
2. Issue resolution: All animals fight, but only humans argue for the purpose of getting to an optimal solution. Think of a problem like a block of wood with each team member chipping away at it until you get to the core issue, the thing you need to act on. And once you get to the heart of the issue, the fix is usually clear, which leads to the third benefit:
3. Action. If you have the right people, you won’t have to push them to solve problems. They’ll leap into action when presented with a clear problem and path to success – a path they developed as a team.
If your team isn’t taking action the way you want them to, go back to the start. Is someone (maybe you) removing conflict, before it has a chance to do its good work?
Call when I can help.
