Navigating Team Turmoil

Hi there, founders! Happy New Year, and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

We know that building and managing a successful team is not a walk in the park - as you’re trying to juggle all the hats to keep your business moving, it’s inevitable that you’ll encounter conflict within your team. In this blog post, I’ll share some tips for effective communication that will help you navigate those choppy waters.

First things first, let’s wrap our heads around why conflict arises in the first place. Conflict often arises from differences in our values, communication styles, and preferences. As long as we have teams, we will have differences of opinions, just by the nature of having different people working together! And not all differences of opinions have to be negative - understanding and appreciating these differences can help your team grow in new directions. However, it can take some skill to keep differences of opinion from escalating into conflict, and how to manage conflict when it arises.

The first step in managing conflict is to create a safe space around communication. Encourage team members to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment - reminding your team that disagreements are normal because each person’s role within the team is different. If everyone is thinking the same way, then faults in the plan aren’t being pointed out, and there is no drive for innovation or change. There’s often a sense that disagreements shouldn’t happen, so take the time to normalize them and maybe even encourage them in the framework of innovation and creativity. It may also be useful to have a discussion about what behaviors lead to constructive disagreements and discussions, and what behaviors detract from them.

Secondly, we want to rely on active listening as much as possible. Miscommunication is a common culprit in workplace conflicts. Especially when we find ourselves in a disagreement with another person, we have a tendency to focus on what we want to say next, and formulating our opinion instead of giving the other person our attention. Active listening is the exact opposite. Try repeating back what you’ve heard to make sure you understood the other person correctly, and asking open-ended questions to understand their perspective even more. Starting with paraphrasing helps the communication seem less like an inquisition, and demonstrates a more collaborative approach to the issue. More likely than not, when people feel heard, they want to know your perspective, too. In a way, this is another way to practice mindfulness - focusing your attention on what’s in front of you, instead of what’s going on in your mind. Taking the time to listen also ensures we’re not making the wrong assumptions about what someone else is thinking and makes sure we’re working with the facts of a situation, not just our own interpretations.

Lastly, it’s helpful to follow any conflict up with a debrief. Take time to reflect as a team on what worked during that period of conflict, and what didn’t. This not only helps you to solidify the resolution, check in on what further improvements can be made, and also builds a culture of continuous improvement within the team.

Navigating team conflict is an art, and as entrepreneurs, you’re not just building businesses - you’re fostering collaborative communities and relationships. By embracing conflict as part of the entrepreneurial journey, and managing effectively, you’ll not only weather the storm but come out more robust and resilient.

Until next time, check out these resources on team conflicts and disagreements:

Why We Should Be Disagreeing More at Work

Podcast - WorkLife with Adam Grant - The Science of Productive Conflict

The Conflict Resolution Playbook by Jeremy Pollack, Ph.D.