You're leading a culture transformation process. How do you resolve conflicts among team members effectively?

If you observe conflicted behaviours among your team members, it might be a sign that there is a broader lack of clarity - either about the vision or mission, or values. They must have seen a mismatch between values and behaviors, the disonans of "not walking the talk" by people who they consider their role models. Thus, engage with your team through open dialogues or pulse surveys to uncover their concerns and challenges. Ensure that all feedback elements are thoroughly followed up - with individuals - without blaming or judgements, without discrediting their challenges or marginalizing their inputs. Make them feel heard , allow expressing emotions and assure that their voice really matters.

You're leading a culture change and facing conflicts among your team? Start by truly understanding the issues. At a marketing agency, team members were clashing over new roles. Instead of jumping in with solutions, the leader created a safe space for everyone to speak up. They listened without judgment, making sure each person felt heard and respected. One powerful question they asked was, “What would a successful outcome look like for you in this situation?” This helped uncover hidden concerns and find common ground. By listening without judgment and showing genuine interest, they made each person feel heard and respected. Sometimes, the right question can be the key to resolving conflict and moving forward together.

Uma quest?o crucial: mudan?as trazem conflitos. é parte da equa??o. O desafio é separar as pessoas dos conflitos entendendo o que está por trás das dores de cada envolvido. Participo de projetos de mudan?as de cultura de empresas familiares em trocas de gera??es no comando. E as perspectivas s?o muito diferente entre sucessores e sucedidos. O processo consiste em: 1. Separar as pessoas dos problemas 2. Entender o que as pessoas querem e seus motivos 3. Gerar op??es antes de tomar decis?es 4. Tomar decis?es baseadas em critérios objetivos O desafio é criar um clima de seguran?a psicológica para que pessoas se exponham sobre uma base de confian?a, um desafio em qualquer empresa, que se torna mais delicado na troca de comando entre gera??es.

Conflicts may also arise from a very blur image of what is coming ahead, and how your team's skillset fits into it. To lead culture change (as a leader or change champion) you must be able to picture a crystal-clear vision of the desired outcome, mission and vision - by communicating it with confidence and candor. Your own honesty and engagement, as well as commitment to this vision will also serve as a source of inspiration for people who follow you. It will become a landmark and the roadmap of the journey, to tackle obstacles that will eventually arise.

Hi community! General disclaimer: I use my own experiences in these articles - not AI. Less complete, not in a numbered list, but hopefully a welcome real life addition to the community pool of knowledge :o). Love the summary to the left, I would like to point to the importance of clear process of escalation and consequences. What happens if attempts to resolve the conflict are unsuccessful or a party is refusing to engage. Clarity on this early on increases accountability & reduces that a sudden pointing to consequences at a late stage is seen as coercion. In my experience not dealing with leaders who demonstrate behaviours significantly unaligned with the culture/values is one of the biggest inhibitors to successful culture work.

Establishing norms together is key to resolving conflicts during culture transformation. Instead of imposing rules, ask your team how they want to handle conflicts and what norms make sense for everyone. This collaborative approach ensures that expectations are clear and embraced by the group. When people are involved in creating the 'rules of engagement,' they feel more ownership and commitment to them. By fostering this open dialogue, you build trust and fairness, creating a more cohesive team ready to handle challenges that come with change.

During a culture transformation, establishing new norms is key—especially for handling conflicts. For example, you could introduce a “24-hour rule” where team members are encouraged to address issues directly with each other within a day of a conflict arising, rather than letting it fester. Another norm might be a “listen-first” approach in meetings, where each person shares their perspective without interruption. To make these stick, hold a workshop to practice these new norms, using real scenarios to show their importance. When everyone understands and buys into these new "rules of engagement," it creates fairness and consistency, keeping conflicts from escalating.

I call Empathy to be a "Glue for Diversity". Bridging diversity is also required when navigating conflicts of internal (i.e. seeminly united) teams/members. Empathy does not mean that you adopt other people's values or viepoints - only that you understand where they are coming from, how much they are shaped by individual experiences. Opening up a dialogue to speak up about diverse perspectives, inviting reflections around how others may see us, is what can facilitate a safe space to joinly tackle the problem. Culture transformation usually touches the priorities of individual values. Stepping into the shoes of others can ultimately formulate a solution that can satisfy both of the conflicted parties.

Empathy can definitely be learned—I've picked it up from working with clients and practicing it myself. It starts with truly listening and giving others the space to share their thoughts. To do more of that (we all can...) I implemented an easy trick: During the first year of Covid, I had a sticker on my computer screen that said "CLOSE YOUR MOUTH, MARION" to remind myself not to interrupt or talk too much in online meetings. This simple act of holding back helped me better understand others' perspectives and fostered more meaningful conversations. You don't have to put a sticker to your computer (or on your mouth...) but what can you do to leave more space to others, and start showing empathy when they open up?

Struggling with conflicts during a culture change? Collaboration is key, and finding compromise is a powerful way to resolve disputes. At a tech startup, a clash arose over differing ideas for a new project approach. Instead of choosing sides, the team used a structured compromise process. They listed each person’s key concerns and goals, then brainstormed solutions that addressed the most critical points for everyone. This approach led to a compromise that incorporated elements from each idea, resulting in a more innovative and successful project outcome. A study by Harvard Business Review found that teams using structured compromise strategies were 25% more likely to achieve positive results in conflict resolution.

COLABORAR: "laborar com". Um conceito muito estimulante e que precisa de um empurr?ozinho para alinhar o conceito perante o time. Nos seminários que conduzo, sempre fa?o 3 perguntas: 1. qual é o seu trabalho? 2. qual é a sua fun??o? 3. o que você produz? A maior parte das pessoas confunde a resposta da 2a com a da 1a e n?o sabem responder a 3a. Fruto de uma vis?o fragmentada baseada na TAREFA e n?o no RESULTADO. A colabora??o encontra terreno onde todos sabem o qual é o seu trabalho: fazer o sua empresa vencer (atingir metas), sabendo qual é a sua fun??o - como a pessoa funciona no processo para fazer a empresa vencer e o que ela produz, qual é o resultado de suas a??es. Sem esse alinhamento "laborar com", será um enorme desafio.

Involving your team in the co-creation of solution within change process can significantly reduce conflicts. Give your team members a role in shaping togetherness by soliciting their ideas, incorporating their feedback. This sense of ownership can include outsiders and transform skeptics into advocates for change. Empowerment through involvement fosters a collaborative culture that values each person's contribution to creating culture where everyone can be seen and heard, and their unique voice can really matter.

Credibility and trust is build by the assurance - expressed in actions not words - that the needs of your people are addressed or met. Oftentimes, at the roots of conflicts or misunderstanding, there are unmet needs of being seen or heard. By following through, as a leader you demonstrate that you care about your people and that you want them to collaborate in harmony.

Hi community! General disclaimer: I use my own experiences in these articles - not AI. Less complete, not in a numbered list, but hopefully a welcome real life addition to the community pool of knowledge :o). Love the summary to the left, I would like to point to the importance of clear process of escalation and consequences. What happens if attempts to resolve the conflict are unsuccessful or a party is refusing to engage. Clarity on this early on increases accountability & reduces that a sudden pointing to consequences at a late stage is seen as coercion. In my experience not dealing with leaders who demonstrate behaviours significantly unaligned with the culture/values is one of the biggest inhibitors to successful culture work.