Why Does Your Team Need Conflicts To Achieve Goals???

Recently while speaking to some of the CEOs I learnt that they are happy to not have any workplace conflicts.

But is it really a good thing to not have any conflicts in their workplace? Isn't it a great place for a CEO to be where their team members find ways to resolve issues on their own and never have to escalate anything to them?

It can look like a happy zone, but in the long run it is Not. Negative conflicts can be harmful for a company but all workplace conflicts are not bad. Instead, they can help your organization grow faster. With positive conflicts, you are-

1. Encouraging Varied Viewpoints From Other Members: If you want to have diversity and inclusion in your team, you will have to be prepared to disagree. When we hire diverse teams it is important to encourage exchange of knowledge and let people challenge others with their varied viewpoints, while learning to respect each other's thoughts and ideas. Each team member brings with them their share of knowledge and experience and if this potential is not utilized, it can be a total loss for the company. With positive conflicts, they have the liberty to come across more transparent and vulnerable, creating an inclusive work environment leading to better decisions, and finally a widened bottom line.
2. Building Higher Team Trust: When one team member thinks that it is better to solve a customer grievance by pacifying with a discount and the other believes that by simply spending more time in understanding the real problem is a more effective customer handling strategy, it gives opportunities for both to others to understand each other's point of view and come out with a solution that best fits your brand value. It also helps each of them feel more secure and comfortable in sharing their point of views in future without having any fear of how they may be perceived. Also, they get to have a safe space where creative frictions are welcomed in difficult situations, and it helps them collaborate more effectively while creating better relationships. Have you had a colleague with whom you were upset in the past and when you met you argued your grievances out to finally become better colleagues again? This kind of positive conflict gives you a better understanding of what matters to others and how they prefer to work, removing the smoke screen and showing a clear path to successful transformations in organizations.
3. Helping Your Team Members To Reach Their True Potential: Team members fail to reach their true potential, when they fear conflict. They may shut down as they feel its better not to speak as no one will understand. But when they feel heard and their productive ideas considered, they feel more invested into the company and it's goals. Even if their ideas are not finally taken but put in closet for future reference, they understand the logic around it and the path taken, hence feel committed to deliver their best.
4. Encouraging Innovation: Conflict can seem uncomfortable, but it is also the source of true innovation. Besides it also helps in finding and reducing risks. If two of your team members are not agreeing on how they should roll out a new initiative within the team to serve customers better, they will come out by identifying the pros and cons for each and finally choose the one that fits the bill best. Having no discussion or conflict on a certain challenge, is just not the right way to evolve a business. Remember when two stones struck, fire was born!
5. Providing A Great Learning Opportunity: Although it is not easy to be challenged by other's ideas, it is also an opportunity to find other ways to do things. If a head of department is unhappy because his approval is not taken by another HOD where it was required, by listening to this feedback and discussing possible reasons behind it, it is bound to gain experience for both of them, and come up with new options which they may not have thought of before. This state of evolution is bound to create more effective and robust processes to deliver high quality service to their customers.

By encouraging conflicts that are healthy within your organization and your team members, you’ll be able to develop a well-bonded team that is committed, engaged and, producing the results you need to achieve your business goals.

If you're thinking how to create a culture where your team thrives, scale up their performance and create a wow experience for your customers, we're having a special online workshop on 15th December 2023 for CEOs and business owners. If it interests you, please send me a message "Team Performance" on [email protected] and we will send you the details.