There are two kinds of conflict on a team…the
kind that tears teams apart and the kind that stimulates innovative ideas and
better ways of operating. Clearly the second kind of conflict is to be welcomed
if you seek to encourage greater efficiency and higher performance.
What can you do as a manager to support
constructive conflict and strengthen your team? Here are three approaches that communications skills training experts recommend:
- Make it Respectful: Show the team that respectful disagreement is fully acceptable. Arguments kept in check allow colleagues to share their ideas and often the discussion results in a new and better way of doing things.
- Make it Part of the Process: Schedule meetings that are specifically for questioning the current modus operandi. Could your strategies, processes and practices be improved?
- Make it OK: Ensure that uncomfortable questions are not squelched but, instead, are analyzed for the nuggets they may reveal. This is the kind of teachable moment that will demonstrate that your team is always open to new ideas and ways to improve.
