For this post, I will
focus on interpersonal and intragroup conflict.
There is a remarkable amount of work focused on conflict between an
organization and the individual that I will look into later. That is based much more heavily in
psychology, and does have a significant effect on conflict within
organizations, but that is a conversation for a different day.
How does your organization recognize and manage conflict? Regardless
of how your organization is designed, you will run into some form of it. If your team is a high performing one, you
probably experience conflict quite frequently.
Conflict can, and will stem from any issue; lack of resources, lack of
shared goals, resistance to change, lack of understanding, conflict of
interests, personality, or even processes, to name a few. But it can also stem from team members
promoting and defending what they see as opportunities for improvement, or
identifying and calling out organizational challenges. Can you think of a time when you were in a
meeting where there was no conflict?
Where everyone was on the same page?
Neither can I.
Intra-organizational conflict is not always a sign of dysfunction,
although it can be. It can be the result
of driven parties working to make the organization, the product, or the process
better. This type of conflict is often
referred to as task, or functional
conflict. Task conflict, which I
wrote about, but did not name as such in my last post, is the conflict that
arises when team members clash regarding ideas specific to the task at hand; it
part of that creative forge to which I referred back in December. The conflict could also be a sign of those
things listed in the paragraph above, like a fever indicating an infection. If
not recognized, addressed and managed effectively, conflict can result in
frustration, anger, increased stress, disrupted communication, late
deliverables or worse. Obviously, the
role of leadership is to foster the former and curtail the latter as much as
possible.
When an organization effectively manages and promotes task
conflict, it can be harnessed like the potential energy in a catapult for
innovation, growth, and new ways to see the business. A conflict literate team can understand and encourage
different points of view and discourse to defend them. Consider how the task conflict between the
customer facing part of the business and the design or architecture teams can
often result in improved products and services.
Also consider how when there is no conflict, often the end product is
not useful to the business or rife with functional errors. Any of my friends in the project management
and IT worlds can speak to that, right?
More than likely, you have been part of teams where conflict
is solved in terms of organizational rank.
An “I have VP in my title, so I win” scenario. The
rationale is often that the leader has that role for a reason and, as such, has
the best perspective or experience to make a final decision. There may also be an environment where the
leader sees conflict as a challenge to his or her authority that cannot be
tolerated. This is not an effective
conflict management technique. Subordinates in these kinds of “conflict
controlled” environments, if they are motivated by anything other than a
paycheck, will often begin to feel diminished or disenfranchised. Their attitudes regarding both their superior
and the organization can turn for the worse and they could be lost, either
literally, in terms of looking for other employment, or emotionally, not
bringing their “A-Game” to the table due either a perceived lack of value in
fighting for their ideas or a fear of retribution if they do. Either way, the team loses.
Inversely, there are leaders that seem to live to incite
conflict. I previously worked as part of
an organization where our leader was referred to as “Patches O’Houlihan”. (For reference, please see the guilty
pleasure comedy Dodgeball, with Vince
Vaughn). This VP would tell anyone, very candidly, that
he believed that there should be almost constant conflict within his
organization. That conflict, to him, was a sign that things were getting done
and that people were being passionate about what they were doing. Sometimes, he would throw a monkey wrench
into a process, seemingly in order to create some conflict when he thought
folks might be getting too complacent, regardless of how progress was being
made, ergo, the nickname. The challenge
with this VP is that he could not, or refused to, recognize the difference
between task conflict and detrimental conflict, which would often bubble up in
his group. Conflict was conflict and it
was a sign to him that that things were getting done. Until they weren’t...and people started
leaving.
Sometimes, it’s the actual design of the organization that
can foster conflict, both kinds. I
expect that most of us have been part of organizations where the goals, and
rewards structure, of different teams or departments are not in synch. This lack of coordination can also be a large
driver of conflict. How familiar is
this scenario? Sales people often get rewarded for filling the pipeline. Members of the production staff get bonuses
for maintaining high quality numbers.
Customer care staff are compensated and recognized for effectively and
efficiently solving customer problems and keeping customer satisfaction numbers
up. See where I’m going with this? Once you start to look at it, you will be
able to see the cracks in the design.
By rewarding individuals or specific teams for their specific successes,
organizations can be exacerbating their own conflicts. When sales is compensated for getting more
customers to commit to a purchase, which will increase production. Increases in production will often cause the quality
of the process to suffer, resulting in lower bonuses for the production
staff. This will, in turn, cause
conflict between sales and production.
These challenges can manifest in slower delivery times, or missed
quality numbers, which then affect the customer, creating increased call volume
for customer care. The customer care team will then start
circling the wagons and blaming their challenges on production, which then
blames sales for overtaxing their ability to produce. When these conflict conditions are present,
they often have a negative effect on the overall organization. Communications can break down, limiting
opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
The working environment can become hostile or negative, causing overall
performance to suffer. A collaborative approach to incentivisation, looking at
an overall scorecard for the organization, and letting those interdependent
teams know where and how they fulfill holistic success will create a more
synchronous work environment. Far too
few organizations take a holistic approach to incentivisation.
All this then begs the question, “How can an organization foster
creative, task conflict?“ There are a
few opportunities available.
·
First, make sure that organizational leadership makes
the team members feel safe in disagreeing.
When a leader shuts down discourse, it tends to stay shut down.
·
Encourage dialog, especially when a team member
sees an opportunity for improvement.
·
Educate the team on the difference between task
and detrimental conflict.
o
Focus on the idea or strategy at hand, not on
any person or group.
o
Make sure the discussion is geared towards
positive change, not passive-aggressive posturing.
·
Hire folks who are cut from different cloth. A team of folks who all think the same way
will be handicapped as far as innovative thinking, or if the team is already
brimming with innovators, it can be important to have a rational, grounded
voice in the room.
·
Incentivize devil’s advocacy, if necessary. Identify and reward those members who have forced
the team to think differently about the direction it’s going.
By being thoughtful regarding the role of conflict on your
team, and accepting the fact that it will happen, regardless of what you do,
you can identify and harness task conflict to make your organization one which
is innovative and engaged. The members
of such a team will feel valued and safe.
Manage conflict, don’t stop it.
What are some of your stories
regarding how you or your organizations have managed conflict on your teams? I would love to hear them.
