Create conflict norms
This week, the Daily Tip is discussing ways leaders can build effective team communication. Yesterday, we covered a way to build team trust, the foundation to open team communication. Today, we’ll look at how to use that trust to encourage creative conflict, so the best ideas can be debated effectively.
Patrick Lencioni, author of The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, defines good conflict as “productive, ideological conflict: passionate, unfiltered debate around the issues of importance to the team.”
Teams without trust certainly do have conflict, but the kind of conflict that’s laced with politics, pride, and competition, rather than the pursuit of the best decisions.
When people who don’t trust each other engage in passionate debate, they’re trying to win an argument. They’re not listening to each other’s ideas or reconsidering their own point of view. They’re figuring out how to manipulate the conversation to get what they want.
Equally as destructive, some teams avoid conflict and never engage in tough conversations because they don’t want to get uncomfortable. They don’t want to offend, have others feel personal rejection, or feel it themselves.
How can you as a leader expect to arrive at the best decisions without healthy, creative debate that sometimes gets heated or passionate? Teams that communicate well are capable of engaging in healthy disagreement and constructive conflict.
According to Lencioni, “If team members are never pushing one another outside their emotional comfort zones during discussions, then it is extremely likely that they’re not making the best decisions for the organization.”
So what can you as a leader do to minimize unhealthy conflict and foster healthy, productive conflict on your team?
Conflict norms
You’re the leader. You drive the culture.
Conflict norms are essentially rules of engagement, and they can vary drastically from group to group.
When teammates know the rules of engagement, they are more likely to be comfortable speaking their minds and disagreeing about what matters.
Some teams don’t have a problem with emotionally charged, loud debate, even if it’s laced with emotion, swearing, or interruption.
Some teams prefer to keep things relatively emotion-free, logical, and objective.
According to Lencioni, “One thing is certain: having clear norms gives teams a huge advantage when it comes to ensuring the exchange of good ideas.”
A measure of judgment is required from you as the leader when setting the tone and ground rules for what healthy debate looks like on your team. Take into account the capabilities and attitudes of your teammates.
If you’re unsure how to define these norms, here’s a 30-minute team exercise:
Have all team members write down their preferences for acceptable and unacceptable debate, in terms of language, tone, volume, emotional content, expectations of involvement and participation, avoidance of distractions, and timeliness of responses.
Have each team member review and explain their preferences with the rest of the team.
Discuss collective preferences, paying attention to areas of difference and unacceptable behavior that everyone can commit to.
Formally record and distribute your Conflict Norms.
This approach is effective because it gives everyone a chance to be heard. Once the team knows the norms, it makes giving permission to argue much easier.
Tomorrow, we will discuss what can happen after a team becomes comfortable with conflict. They can better commit to a decision.
