You're facing a clash of ideas within your program team. How can you steer them towards a unified approach?

You are lucky if you are in a team where ideas are emerging freely (even conflicting ones). The worse you can do is curb it coming in. Give time for all the ideas to be surfaced. Contribute only with a few to promote surfacing of more ideas. White board and bucketise these ideas into smaller groups. Advise people to disassociate from their ideas once it finds its place on the whiteboard. Thereafter stack these in a two by two matrix based on effort and impact. Prioritise low effort high impact ideas (low hanging fruits) first, followed by building a project for the high effort high impact ones next.

Craft a snazzy storyboard that maps each idea’s journey from start to finish. This will help your team see how each approach plays out in real life. Set up a swanky “idea dashboard” where everyone can pitch their brilliant thoughts and vote for the most compelling ones. Share a case study that mirrors your team’s situation. Break down how similar challenges were tackled, focusing on the strategies and outcomes.

Creating a safe space for debate is imperative in leading any project. Two people may have polar views, and they both can be true. However, each project has a goal and it’s important to align our views with the short term and long term goal in mind. That doesn’t mean a varying opinion is useless. It helps us prepare alternate approaches. A few leaders jump to conclusions right away- “ it won’t work”; “I’ve seen it all”.. it’s important to not fall in that ego trap and LISTEN to what others are saying. You should always be open to change as a leader. Jeff B says leaders change their opinions often when presented with new data points. So, let data guide your path and use your intuition to fine tune it. Your “gut” cannot run the show!

This starts before any discussion. Your team needs to trust you and know that they have psychological safety to share their views. Without this safe space, it will be very difficult to truly hear underlying concerns. Actively listen, respect and acknowledge opinions and ask probing questions to uncover drivers for positions. Focus the discussion on process/issue, not on other's people's positions. Look to align all participants on a common goal, not on each other positions.

1.A leader must make the final decisions, fully aware that any negative consequences will ultimately be their responsibility. 2. Engage your team in discussing all potential options, considering their pros and cons from an organizational perspective. 3. Build a team consensus on the chosen solution and provide strong support for its implementation.

Using Tools like Affinity diagrams, PUGH matrix or any scoring tool with an agreed evaluation criteria like budget constraints, schedule constraints, Organization priorities, etc. would help t to evaluate objectively and bring an alignment across the team.

Have your team focus on problem statement followed by solutioning Define your north star very clearly between stakeholders and the risks

1. A great leader has a clear vision and mission, but he wants to communicate it to his team members in a way that they understand and take ownership, so that all the team members align on the same platform. 2. Second, the leader wants to set clear criteria for decision-making in line with the organization's vision and mission, so that each team member can visualize their own responsibilities within the organization.

Start by creating an environment where team members feel free to ask questions and share their opinions. Encourage this attitude by explicitly stating that all points of view have value and that questions are always welcome

It is invaluable learning and development to listen to and acknowledge divergent views. As a leader, facilitating team discussions where we analyzing various points of views & the impact has often led to optimizing outcomes that we would not have realized.

Only good communication and open honest discussion can take you through a situation like this. Once discussion is open, people can give their thoughts, we then group them into main categories, discuss pros and cons of each, then agree on the way forward.

Uma lideran?a que incentiva o diálogo em caso de ideias divergentes cria um ambiente colaborativo e inovador. Esses líderes promovem discuss?es abertas, valorizando a diversidade de pensamento e transformando conflitos em oportunidades de aprendizado. Ao ouvir ativamente todas as opini?es, eles ampliam as perspectivas e fortalecem o engajamento e a confian?a da equipe. Esse estilo de lideran?a demonstra que desacordos s?o uma chance de crescimento, resultando em solu??es mais criativas e eficazes, essenciais para o sucesso coletivo e inova??o contínua.

It is always possible within a group of people to carry diverse opinions, which is a healthy sign. However, while making a decision, it is important to discuss the process that leads to decision making. Bringing in commercial value as an aspect or return on investment brings in lot of rationale to any conversation. Hence, dialogues between involved parties or stakeholders are very important.

Working backwards from the goal is a productive way to map out how your inputs can drive toward a desired outcome. Anything that stands out as not contributing to the goal can be deprioritized - this helps weed out ideas that clash in an objective way.

Understanding the root cause and mitigating the same with the key Strategies are critical to be able to focus on key priorities also highlighting the goal and acknowledging the same by all the team players would create collaborative affects to achieve the same!

Prioritizing goals is a great way to make the team zoom out and look at the long term impact of their proposed ideas. In the end, it should be about achieving goals with the best strategy possible than getting attached to your own ideas. While individual and breakthrough ideas hold great value on problem solving, it is of no use if the resulting conflicts lead to delays and lack of productivity.

Will the conflicting ideas both achieve the organization's desired goal, using the same level of effort and with the same investment of resources, and within the same period of performance? If not, then the idea that best accomplishes the goal needs to be the direction supported collectively by the team. Ensuring other's opinions are heard, addressed, and given valid consideration with a clear understanding of why decisions are made should minimize any clash within the team. If not, perhaps it is time to reassess team members - do you have the right people in the right seats to ensure team continunity?

Focus the team on the end outcome that needs to be achieved and then encourage them to work backwards from that. Then them to show how their idea enables that objective. That way, the whole team sees the strengths and opportunities in ideas and comes up with a solution that could be one or more ideas or a portion of those ideas strung together.

What has worked for me in the past is never allowing the issue to escalate to a situation where there are different 'cliques' inside the team, each passionately defending their point of view on how to solve the problem. The whole team must take full responsibility for the project's success. In extreme cases, consider taking an afternoon or a day from the regular schedule to engage the whole team in Design Thinking or Lean Startup experiences. These approaches can be powerful tools for identifying and solving issues, particularly by fostering empathy. Remember to disband the cliques and form teams with people of different views and backgrounds.

It is always possible within a group of people to carry diverse opinions, which is a healthy sign. However, while making a decision, it is important to build consensus to ensure long term success of the project. Bringing in commercial value or return on investment as an aspect brings in lot of rationale to any conversation. Hence, dialogues between involved parties or stakeholders are very important before agreeing on common solution or way forward.

In my views, the most suited approach for steering a program team towards a unified direction during a clash of ideas is "Build Consensus". Consensus-building focuses on finding common ground and addressing everyone’s concerns, ensuring that the team feels involved in the decision-making process and is more likely to support the final approach. Building consensus ensures that the team collectively agrees on the approach, making it more sustainable and collaborative. Others are not that effective. There could be disagreement.

One key approach I follow is to bring all the ideas on board and discuss the pros and cons of each idea and effectively steer the discussion to prioritize and progress on the next steps of implementation once an approach or an idea is agreed upon.

Create a safe and respectful space for all team members to voice their perspectives and concerns. Listen actively to each team members point of view and encourage constructive dialogue to understand the underlying reasons for the clash of ideas. Look for common ground and shared goals that can serve as a foundation for building consensus. encourage brainstorming, compromise, and creative problem solving. Emphasize the importance of working towards a unified approach that benefits the overall success of the program. Remember that diversity of thought can lead to innovative solutions, and by valuing each team member's input, you can steer the team towards a harmonious and effective way forward.

One blind spot is "expectations management:" we have to be cognizant that what you hope to implement does not come by overnight: it requires a thorough approach from the prep work you'll do before changing or moving a policy or program. This also requires effort to build training amongst immediate and adjacent staff to get comprehension but also as a PM, you'll be the go-to with all of the answers. Once implementation happens, you'll get feedback and adjust accordingly. Internal staff feedback is important (and depending on your clients or stakeholders, also important), but the goal is to set the pace forward from what you're seeking to change.

Once a consensus is reached, taking decisive action to implement the agreed-upon approach involves: 1. Assign Clear Roles and Responsibilities: Ensure every team member knows their specific tasks in executing the plan. 2. Create a Detailed Action Plan: Outline the steps needed, set deadlines, and allocate resources to support the implementation. 3. Communicate the Plan Effectively: Ensure all stakeholders are informed about the decision and the next steps. 4. Monitor Progress: Track the implementation and make adjustments as needed to stay on course. 5. Maintain Team Support: Keep the team motivated and address any concerns during the execution phase to maintain momentum. This give direction and speeds up the execution process.

By listening to the feedback and concerns of your team or stakeholders, you can identify the root causes of their resistance and address them accordingly. For example, if they are afraid of losing their skills or roles, you can reassure them of their value and offer them training or support. Here are someways to build a proper communication within your team: 1. Set common goals. 2. Conduct effective strategy meetings. 3. Use Objectives and Key Results. 4. Launch initiatives. 5. Have regular catch up with the team. 6. Share information and updates. 7.Establish clear Roles and Responsibilities. 8. Set expectations and hold team members Accountability.

1. Listen to member's viewpoint, ask clarifying questions, and acknowledge their concerns. 3. Remind overall objectives and how individual ideas contribute to achieving them. 4. Objectively assess each idea's pros and cons 5. Look for areas of agreement and try to find a compromise 6. Involve the team in the decision-making process to ensure everyone is invested in the chosen approach. 7. Clearly articulate the unified approach, explaining the reasoning and benefits. 8. Address any remaining concerns or objections, providing support and clarification. 9. Encourage teamwork, respect, and open communication to prevent future clashes. 10. Regularly review the unified approach and make adjustments