Conflict during a team meeting can be destructive or positive depending on how it is handled. A question that I ask everyone during promotional exams is "What is the most important word in the English language and why?" No one gets this right and I give them the answer in the question. To me "why" is the most important word. Without questioning anything we will not progress.
If you look at the conflict as an argument alone, it will be destructive. The team will argue and might get past it. However, if you look at the conflict as a learning opportunity, then you will be able to grow as a team. Conflict can be good if harnessed the correct way. When you have a disagreement, you need to understand what the objection is. The objection is nothing more than a different viewpoint.
As a team it is our responsibility to understand where the other person is coming from, communicate, and find a way to come to a mutually agreed upon solution. This is an opportunity to learn something new and to grow as a team.
Brian, that is a great question for an interview and one I have never considered. I agree that asking "Why" is what inspires creativity and efficiency. I didn't touch on the negative effects of conflict in my response. I agree with your assessment on that as well. I have been a part of discussions that turn into arguments and ultimately ruin the dynamic of a team and stunt progress. While it seems to be a redundant solution good communication is essential for a good team dynamic and successful team.
Brian, I definitely agree with you in the fact that it can be a good thing for the team to have some disagreements or conflict. It enables the team to grow as a whole and learn how to work together even in conflict. As leaders in any team, it is certainly our responsibility to make sure that the team handles conflict appropriately. I like your question of the importance of "why"? Everyone should be able to question why we do what we do and we should be able to have appropriate answers for them and not just think to ourselves, "why are they questioning us?".
Conflict during a team meeting is beneficial when coordinated with open minds and professionalism. Conflict occurs when members of the team have different ideas and opinions regarding the current topic. I have learned from all of our past team assignments that when everyone is allowed to express his or her idea, the final solution is better. Conflict inspires discussion, creating a learning environment for everyone. According to the “Emotional Intelligence Competencies Poster”, posted in week one, developing social skills improves emotional intelligence. Social skills involve developing rapport and convincing others to move in a desired direction. Working through the conflict allows a team to practice social skills. According to the Thomas-Killman Model, collaboration is one of the results of conflict. When working in a team environment, collaboration gains commitment from the entire team and leads to continued success. Without conflict, a true collaboration would be difficult to achieve. Similarly, working through conflict creates growth amongst a team, it develops relationships and trust. Based on past blog responses, trust was established as one of the most important attributes for a successful team. I have found from my own experience, my own ideas are not the best answer to any given problem. The ideas of other team members allow me to view the problem from multiple angles. Recently, I completed an award submission for a controversial task force at our department. I discussed the award submission with my co-workers. Initially, the award only represented the creator, my captain. Luckily I have a good relationship with the sergeants that work for me. They explained that the skills of the two sergeants assigned to the task force had a huge part in the success of the team. Without the two specific sergeants chosen, the award would not have been as meaningful. The team reduced gun violence by more than 50%. After a round table discussion, I amended the award to include the names of the two sergeants. My opinion on the matter was influenced while working through the conflict with other sergeants regarding the award. Reflecting, the two sergeants assigned to the task force deserved the award as much as the captain. This example demonstrates how conflict and professional conflict resolution contribute to the best result of a problem.
Kelly, I have had several disagreements in my career over awards. I personally do not believe that upper command staff should be getting awards. The awards should focus on the front line staff. At the Sheriff's Office, there were plenty of awards given to those high level command staff that were on the awards committee. At the City of Burton there was a chief that gave himself the officer of the year award. I have given several awards for events that I have been involved with. I would never add myself as one who would receive an award. Before I became Chief, the awards at Burton were given to the same group of people. I had to create the conflict and tell that group that they would not continue getting awards for things that were not award worthy and recognize others that deserve it. For example, I wanted to give the officer of the year to an officer that did CPR on 2 people that year and saved their lives, gave up a specialized training to change shifts and FTO a new hire, volunteered their time for community events, raised money and organized a turkey dinner giveaway to 13 families, took over a failed attempt from another officer to provide Christmas gifts to school kids and made it extremely successful, and headed our neighborhood watch program. The awards committee at the time did not want to give this officer the award and wanted to give it to a Sergeant because he went to night shift after one of our sergeants was forced to resign. That sergeant did not want to go to night shift and I had to order him to night shift. This did create a large conflict and a divide in our department because there was not a mutual understanding of how the department is changing with me as Chief. It took a long time of consistency on my part to get buy in. Thankfully those that could not get in line with the new culture left and we have an absolutely amazing department now.
Kelly, I like how you tied this back into one of our previous blog discussions regarding trust. This is something that I did not think about until I read your post. However, I totally agree with you in that it does create trust amongst others. Regarding the award request I too dealt with this a few weeks ago when reviewing award submissions prior to our awards banquet. On a few of the award's requests some officers who had minor yet important roles were left off. I included them and prior to the discussion one officer disagreed. However, after listening to various reasons why these officers deserved awards the officer agreed additional personnel were deserving.
Brian, as to your point I agree with you completely. There comes a point in your career when you are in upper management that it's not about you as the leader. It's about recognizing those who are on the front line doing the work. There are few things that give me greater pleasure in this line of work than watching those who are on the frontlines do amazing things.
Kelly, You have a great point that we have learned throughout the first couple weeks, that our outcome will always be better when everyone is heard. Often time, leaders miss this point because they think that they are the most experienced and no one else could have a better answer to the problem. Social skills are certainly one of the most important traits that we can have, especially as leaders. We must be able to communicate effectively with everyone on our team and make sure that they are able to talk within themselves also. I also couldn't agree with you more about the importance of trust. I believe that it is the most important foundation for a team to build upon. Teammates must be able to trust each other that they are going to be heard, backed, and trusted with all of the decisions that they make.
Kelly, I like how you linked this to Emotional Intelligence. Great point by stating that conflict sparks discussion, which in turn leads to improved social skills. I also agree that for collaboration to be successful, there cannot be all of the same thoughts/ideas. Differing of opinions is needed when working through a problem. Also great example of the award situation. Issuing awards and praise can often times cause conflicts, and if not thought through thoroughly can be very negative on an agency. Great work with working through that and doing what was right. I have learned so much from reading what each of the team members thoughts on the issue are!
In my opinion, conflict during a team meeting can lead one of two ways. It can be a positive experience that enables growth as a team, and acquire new ideas or mindsets that were not thought of before. It can also cause lasting disagreement and issues within the team itself. I think it is important to utilize the conflicts as a time for growth, and to hear out all viewpoints on the conflicting issue. Where things can become detrimental is when teammates take the conflict personally or make it personal, and shut down. I think it is important to set aside ego's and understand that not everyone is going to think alike. Using conflicting viewpoints to make compromises and maybe even change a position on an issue is beneficial. I think it is also important to remember that the whole purpose of being a part of a team is working with other people to solve challenging tasks, have multiple viewpoints, and come up with the best product possible. This would not be possible without everyone's input, and it would not be a success if everyone's input and ideas were always the same. I find it important to note, Platinum Team not only listens to all team members, but embraces all viewpoints. This has led to our great success and status for being the best.
Reed, I'm glad you touched on egos. In my experience, egos destroy good teams. I worked for a sergeant once that made decisions with his ego. It created a divide on our team. Team members were talking about team members behind their backs. We were not supporting each other. The rest of the department started to notice. They lost trust in our team. It made it difficult for me to show up for training and maintain motivation. Ultimately, that Sgt retired. A new Sgt. took over, he left his ego behind. Within months the team had resolved the majority of the issues and trust was reestablished.
Reed, I like how you mentioned our Platinum Team and how we all listen and embrace different viewpoints. Our team works together quite well, and I actually enjoy our meetings. Prior to this class I was worried as I had heard horror stories about people getting stuck on a team with people who do not help each other out. I have not found that to be the case at all with this team. We have a great group of people who are very team oriented, listen, and embrace each other. We resolve the conflict prior to it being any noticeable conflict.
Reed, I also like the fact that you brought up egos. Over my 25+ year career, there have been very few people that I have had a reoccurring challenge working with. My honest opinion on those cases boils down to ego. I am not a fan of big egos. When someone thinks so highly of themselves that they are positive they are never wrong, there is a problem. That it a team killer. Even if they are an asset to the team in other ways, this becomes hard to overlook and overcome. If a teammate cannot put their ego in check and open themselves up to the fact that someone else might have a better idea than them, they are really just a team of one.
Conflict during a team meeting can lead to a whole host of issues. A lot can be bad, but some can be good; it all depends on how that conflict is managed. Does it deteriorate into a shouting match, or can it lead to a professional and healthy debate? It takes leadership to manage that conflict and try to guide it. It doesn’t always have to be the official team leader either. Any member can recognize conflict when it arises and try to use techniques to manage it. It’s then about successfully using one of the different conflict resolution techniques to cope with it. What best suits that particular situation? Collaboration and compromise are recognized as two of the ideal types of conflict resolution, but maybe accommodating, avoiding, or competing are more appropriate.
If there is a particular person in a team that is known to “butt heads” with everyone else, some conflict may be expected on a regular basis. But, how is this managed? Does that person get a pass because “that’s just who they are”? Are they bringing up valid points or just arguing to be difficult? Maybe their delivery is what needs to be addressed and not so much their message? This lends to being professional; that rule has to be a constant.
Every member of a team is not going to get along all of the time. There will not, and should not, be a consensus on everything all the time. This is the epitome of groupthink. This can stifle new ideas from members of the group who may fear sharing something contrary to what the team has decided. It can also make a team grow stagnate and even push ideas that have obvious flaws. You have to wonder how a group can get to that point. Clearly, there is no real communication and horrible leadership.
Curt, This is what makes us a good team. We have all had the same view of this STEM statement. Unfortunately, there could be that one team member that always "butts heads" and no matter what you do they will not change. As a group, you can only do so much to help and guide that person. At some point we need to remove that individual from the team. We see this in our departments from that one person that is known at the "cancer" of the department. You can try to build the person up, you can discipline them, you can move them to different positions, but they will not conform. You then turn your tactic into documentation and termination. When you move up to the higher ranks, it is your responsibility to protect the team and do what is right for the team.
Curt, You make a great point here. In order for it to be a professional and healthy debate, there needs to be leadership of someone to manage the situation and ensure it is controlled properly. This reminds me of when we are instructing firearms. Although we may be the "official" range instructors, at any point any member can call a cease-fire or have some control over the range. As with disagreements or conflicts, I agree completely that it does not always need to be the team leader to step up and ensure a healthy learning environment is established or maintained.
Curt, I like that you bring up that any member can recognize conflict and use techniques to manage it. It does not have to be the official team leader or even a person in a managerial role. I think too often this is forgotten about and that some of the best conflict resolutions happen amongst peers. When I was a new sergeant on night shift I had a rather tenured crew of officers. This crew was particularly good at resolving conflict amongst each other without involving a supervisor. They actually made it easy to be their supervisor. This allowed me to give them a little more autonomy as I was confident in their abilities to manage any situation.
Conflict during a team meeting is not a bad thing and can be productive if handled well. It can illustrate differing viewpoints or perspectives on a particular topic. This, of course, goes under the assumption that those on the team can have a respectful discussion on the topic that they are disagreeing about. They are part of the team, which is something larger than the individual which sometimes a reminder is needed.
From my experiences, I have found that many times people want to pursue the same goals and often even want to pursue them the same way. However, issues arise when communication channels are not aligned. This leads to the misunderstanding, which in turn causes the conflict. This type of conflict is often the easiest to resolve. If those involved in the conflict just take a moment to be more clear in their explanations, the conflict can be resolved. More importantly, if they just listen more carefully, it can prevent further conflict.
However, there are times when conflict arises from unresolved issues that go back further. Emotions can get involved, which in turn clouds decision-making. In my experience, this often occurs when team members have differing personalities, competing ideas, a power struggle, or contrasting ideologies. I spent many years being a union steward and have watched this type of conflict happen among members during contract negotiations. Usually, this conflict is resolved by looking at the conflict through a sterile lens. I would often remind members that we negotiate for the position, not the person. If a clear direction cannot be established, it may be possible to reach a compromise to resolve the conflict. If that doesn’t work, a vote typically takes place, and the majority decision prevails. Rarely did it ever come down to this as usually a compromise resolved the conflict. Either way, things must be handled in a respectful and dignified manner, or it will lead to further conflict.
Conflict during a team meeting can be a very difficult thing to overcome but it can also be a very positive thing depending on the individuals. A team must be able to overcome obstacles and be able to have tough conversations to be able to improve and progress. Everyone should be able to have a voice inside of a team and with this, conflict does tend to arise. Teammates should be able to accept other's thoughts and ideas and be able to effectively communicate their opinions and work towards a solution. Often times, we get very set in our ways and fail to bring in outside ideas. When this happens, people often find themselves in conflict. When this does arise, working through the problem and accepting ideas, coming to a common agreement, will always strengthen a team. The outcome is almost always building trust. The trust is built by knowing that others are going to be receptive to your ideas and take them into consideration and knowing that the team itself can work together to come up with the best possible outcome for the problem. Conversely, if a team fails to work through a problem, it can lead to a complete degradation of the team. People will start to shut down if they feel like they are not heard or that they are not valued. This happens when someone fails to take any information or ideas from others in the group. We often see this when we have a leader that thinks that their ideas are always the best or that they always know the answers because they have the most experience. Often times, the best ideas can come from someone else in the group. If we shut down those ideas, it will almost always lead to poor team performance and attitudes.
Nate, I like how you brought up the part about some leaders thinking their ideas are always the best just because of their position or time of service. I worked under a leader who was very much a dictator. They accepted very little input or ideas from anyone. They could also be very vindictive when someone were to express opposition to their ideas. It was a morale killer. Most people gave up trying and the biggest concern became "what kind of mood is the boss in today?" Individual leaders had to do their best to support the smaller groups they had influence over, solicit ideas to make them feel like part of a team, and give them a voice where they could.
Nate, That is a great way to put it! I honestly never thought of the fact that trust can be built from the conflict. With this idea in mind I completely agree that once you realize that if the team had conflict and it was worked through, you now know they will take your ideas into consideration is extremely valid. Lastly, I think everyone on the team can agree and has been witness to the negative impacts conflict can cause and one of the impacts being "shutting down." Once people do not think their ideas are being taken into consideration, the slope is slippery. Great points!
Conflict during a team meeting can be destructive or positive depending on how it is handled. A question that I ask everyone during promotional exams is "What is the most important word in the English language and why?" No one gets this right and I give them the answer in the question. To me "why" is the most important word. Without questioning anything we will not progress.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the conflict as an argument alone, it will be destructive. The team will argue and might get past it. However, if you look at the conflict as a learning opportunity, then you will be able to grow as a team. Conflict can be good if harnessed the correct way. When you have a disagreement, you need to understand what the objection is. The objection is nothing more than a different viewpoint.
As a team it is our responsibility to understand where the other person is coming from, communicate, and find a way to come to a mutually agreed upon solution. This is an opportunity to learn something new and to grow as a team.
Brian, that is a great question for an interview and one I have never considered. I agree that asking "Why" is what inspires creativity and efficiency. I didn't touch on the negative effects of conflict in my response. I agree with your assessment on that as well. I have been a part of discussions that turn into arguments and ultimately ruin the dynamic of a team and stunt progress. While it seems to be a redundant solution good communication is essential for a good team dynamic and successful team.
DeleteBrian,
DeleteI definitely agree with you in the fact that it can be a good thing for the team to have some disagreements or conflict. It enables the team to grow as a whole and learn how to work together even in conflict. As leaders in any team, it is certainly our responsibility to make sure that the team handles conflict appropriately.
I like your question of the importance of "why"? Everyone should be able to question why we do what we do and we should be able to have appropriate answers for them and not just think to ourselves, "why are they questioning us?".
Conflict during a team meeting is beneficial when coordinated with open minds and professionalism. Conflict occurs when members of the team have different ideas and opinions regarding the current topic. I have learned from all of our past team assignments that when everyone is allowed to express his or her idea, the final solution is better. Conflict inspires discussion, creating a learning environment for everyone. According to the “Emotional Intelligence Competencies Poster”, posted in week one, developing social skills improves emotional intelligence. Social skills involve developing rapport and convincing others to move in a desired direction. Working through the conflict allows a team to practice social skills.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Thomas-Killman Model, collaboration is one of the results of conflict. When working in a team environment, collaboration gains commitment from the entire team and leads to continued success. Without conflict, a true collaboration would be difficult to achieve. Similarly, working through conflict creates growth amongst a team, it develops relationships and trust. Based on past blog responses, trust was established as one of the most important attributes for a successful team. I have found from my own experience, my own ideas are not the best answer to any given problem. The ideas of other team members allow me to view the problem from multiple angles.
Recently, I completed an award submission for a controversial task force at our department. I discussed the award submission with my co-workers. Initially, the award only represented the creator, my captain. Luckily I have a good relationship with the sergeants that work for me. They explained that the skills of the two sergeants assigned to the task force had a huge part in the success of the team. Without the two specific sergeants chosen, the award would not have been as meaningful. The team reduced gun violence by more than 50%. After a round table discussion, I amended the award to include the names of the two sergeants. My opinion on the matter was influenced while working through the conflict with other sergeants regarding the award. Reflecting, the two sergeants assigned to the task force deserved the award as much as the captain. This example demonstrates how conflict and professional conflict resolution contribute to the best result of a problem.
Kelly,
DeleteI have had several disagreements in my career over awards. I personally do not believe that upper command staff should be getting awards. The awards should focus on the front line staff. At the Sheriff's Office, there were plenty of awards given to those high level command staff that were on the awards committee. At the City of Burton there was a chief that gave himself the officer of the year award. I have given several awards for events that I have been involved with. I would never add myself as one who would receive an award. Before I became Chief, the awards at Burton were given to the same group of people. I had to create the conflict and tell that group that they would not continue getting awards for things that were not award worthy and recognize others that deserve it. For example, I wanted to give the officer of the year to an officer that did CPR on 2 people that year and saved their lives, gave up a specialized training to change shifts and FTO a new hire, volunteered their time for community events, raised money and organized a turkey dinner giveaway to 13 families, took over a failed attempt from another officer to provide Christmas gifts to school kids and made it extremely successful, and headed our neighborhood watch program. The awards committee at the time did not want to give this officer the award and wanted to give it to a Sergeant because he went to night shift after one of our sergeants was forced to resign. That sergeant did not want to go to night shift and I had to order him to night shift. This did create a large conflict and a divide in our department because there was not a mutual understanding of how the department is changing with me as Chief. It took a long time of consistency on my part to get buy in. Thankfully those that could not get in line with the new culture left and we have an absolutely amazing department now.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteKelly, I like how you tied this back into one of our previous blog discussions regarding trust. This is something that I did not think about until I read your post. However, I totally agree with you in that it does create trust amongst others. Regarding the award request I too dealt with this a few weeks ago when reviewing award submissions prior to our awards banquet. On a few of the award's requests some officers who had minor yet important roles were left off. I included them and prior to the discussion one officer disagreed. However, after listening to various reasons why these officers deserved awards the officer agreed additional personnel were deserving.
DeleteBrian, as to your point I agree with you completely. There comes a point in your career when you are in upper management that it's not about you as the leader. It's about recognizing those who are on the front line doing the work. There are few things that give me greater pleasure in this line of work than watching those who are on the frontlines do amazing things.
Kelly,
DeleteYou have a great point that we have learned throughout the first couple weeks, that our outcome will always be better when everyone is heard. Often time, leaders miss this point because they think that they are the most experienced and no one else could have a better answer to the problem. Social skills are certainly one of the most important traits that we can have, especially as leaders. We must be able to communicate effectively with everyone on our team and make sure that they are able to talk within themselves also.
I also couldn't agree with you more about the importance of trust. I believe that it is the most important foundation for a team to build upon. Teammates must be able to trust each other that they are going to be heard, backed, and trusted with all of the decisions that they make.
Kelly,
DeleteI like how you linked this to Emotional Intelligence. Great point by stating that conflict sparks discussion, which in turn leads to improved social skills. I also agree that for collaboration to be successful, there cannot be all of the same thoughts/ideas. Differing of opinions is needed when working through a problem. Also great example of the award situation. Issuing awards and praise can often times cause conflicts, and if not thought through thoroughly can be very negative on an agency. Great work with working through that and doing what was right. I have learned so much from reading what each of the team members thoughts on the issue are!
In my opinion, conflict during a team meeting can lead one of two ways. It can be a positive experience that enables growth as a team, and acquire new ideas or mindsets that were not thought of before. It can also cause lasting disagreement and issues within the team itself. I think it is important to utilize the conflicts as a time for growth, and to hear out all viewpoints on the conflicting issue. Where things can become detrimental is when teammates take the conflict personally or make it personal, and shut down. I think it is important to set aside ego's and understand that not everyone is going to think alike. Using conflicting viewpoints to make compromises and maybe even change a position on an issue is beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also important to remember that the whole purpose of being a part of a team is working with other people to solve challenging tasks, have multiple viewpoints, and come up with the best product possible. This would not be possible without everyone's input, and it would not be a success if everyone's input and ideas were always the same. I find it important to note, Platinum Team not only listens to all team members, but embraces all viewpoints. This has led to our great success and status for being the best.
Reed, I'm glad you touched on egos. In my experience, egos destroy good teams. I worked for a sergeant once that made decisions with his ego. It created a divide on our team. Team members were talking about team members behind their backs. We were not supporting each other. The rest of the department started to notice. They lost trust in our team. It made it difficult for me to show up for training and maintain motivation. Ultimately, that Sgt retired. A new Sgt. took over, he left his ego behind. Within months the team had resolved the majority of the issues and trust was reestablished.
DeleteReed, I like how you mentioned our Platinum Team and how we all listen and embrace different viewpoints. Our team works together quite well, and I actually enjoy our meetings. Prior to this class I was worried as I had heard horror stories about people getting stuck on a team with people who do not help each other out. I have not found that to be the case at all with this team. We have a great group of people who are very team oriented, listen, and embrace each other. We resolve the conflict prior to it being any noticeable conflict.
DeleteReed,
DeleteI also like the fact that you brought up egos. Over my 25+ year career, there have been very few people that I have had a reoccurring challenge working with. My honest opinion on those cases boils down to ego. I am not a fan of big egos. When someone thinks so highly of themselves that they are positive they are never wrong, there is a problem. That it a team killer. Even if they are an asset to the team in other ways, this becomes hard to overlook and overcome. If a teammate cannot put their ego in check and open themselves up to the fact that someone else might have a better idea than them, they are really just a team of one.
Conflict during a team meeting can lead to a whole host of issues. A lot can be bad, but some can be good; it all depends on how that conflict is managed. Does it deteriorate into a shouting match, or can it lead to a professional and healthy debate? It takes leadership to manage that conflict and try to guide it. It doesn’t always have to be the official team leader either. Any member can recognize conflict when it arises and try to use techniques to manage it. It’s then about successfully using one of the different conflict resolution techniques to cope with it. What best suits that particular situation? Collaboration and compromise are recognized as two of the ideal types of conflict resolution, but maybe accommodating, avoiding, or competing are more appropriate.
ReplyDeleteIf there is a particular person in a team that is known to “butt heads” with everyone else, some conflict may be expected on a regular basis. But, how is this managed? Does that person get a pass because “that’s just who they are”? Are they bringing up valid points or just arguing to be difficult? Maybe their delivery is what needs to be addressed and not so much their message? This lends to being professional; that rule has to be a constant.
Every member of a team is not going to get along all of the time. There will not, and should not, be a consensus on everything all the time. This is the epitome of groupthink. This can stifle new ideas from members of the group who may fear sharing something contrary to what the team has decided. It can also make a team grow stagnate and even push ideas that have obvious flaws. You have to wonder how a group can get to that point. Clearly, there is no real communication and horrible leadership.
Curt,
DeleteThis is what makes us a good team. We have all had the same view of this STEM statement. Unfortunately, there could be that one team member that always "butts heads" and no matter what you do they will not change. As a group, you can only do so much to help and guide that person. At some point we need to remove that individual from the team. We see this in our departments from that one person that is known at the "cancer" of the department. You can try to build the person up, you can discipline them, you can move them to different positions, but they will not conform. You then turn your tactic into documentation and termination. When you move up to the higher ranks, it is your responsibility to protect the team and do what is right for the team.
Curt,
DeleteYou make a great point here. In order for it to be a professional and healthy debate, there needs to be leadership of someone to manage the situation and ensure it is controlled properly. This reminds me of when we are instructing firearms. Although we may be the "official" range instructors, at any point any member can call a cease-fire or have some control over the range. As with disagreements or conflicts, I agree completely that it does not always need to be the team leader to step up and ensure a healthy learning environment is established or maintained.
Curt, I like that you bring up that any member can recognize conflict and use techniques to manage it. It does not have to be the official team leader or even a person in a managerial role. I think too often this is forgotten about and that some of the best conflict resolutions happen amongst peers. When I was a new sergeant on night shift I had a rather tenured crew of officers. This crew was particularly good at resolving conflict amongst each other without involving a supervisor. They actually made it easy to be their supervisor. This allowed me to give them a little more autonomy as I was confident in their abilities to manage any situation.
DeleteConflict during a team meeting is not a bad thing and can be productive if handled well. It can illustrate differing viewpoints or perspectives on a particular topic. This, of course, goes under the assumption that those on the team can have a respectful discussion on the topic that they are disagreeing about. They are part of the team, which is something larger than the individual which sometimes a reminder is needed.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experiences, I have found that many times people want to pursue the same goals and often even want to pursue them the same way. However, issues arise when communication channels are not aligned. This leads to the misunderstanding, which in turn causes the conflict. This type of conflict is often the easiest to resolve. If those involved in the conflict just take a moment to be more clear in their explanations, the conflict can be resolved. More importantly, if they just listen more carefully, it can prevent further conflict.
However, there are times when conflict arises from unresolved issues that go back further. Emotions can get involved, which in turn clouds decision-making. In my experience, this often occurs when team members have differing personalities, competing ideas, a power struggle, or contrasting ideologies. I spent many years being a union steward and have watched this type of conflict happen among members during contract negotiations. Usually, this conflict is resolved by looking at the conflict through a sterile lens. I would often remind members that we negotiate for the position, not the person. If a clear direction cannot be established, it may be possible to reach a compromise to resolve the conflict. If that doesn’t work, a vote typically takes place, and the majority decision prevails. Rarely did it ever come down to this as usually a compromise resolved the conflict. Either way, things must be handled in a respectful and dignified manner, or it will lead to further conflict.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteConflict during a team meeting can be a very difficult thing to overcome but it can also be a very positive thing depending on the individuals. A team must be able to overcome obstacles and be able to have tough conversations to be able to improve and progress. Everyone should be able to have a voice inside of a team and with this, conflict does tend to arise. Teammates should be able to accept other's thoughts and ideas and be able to effectively communicate their opinions and work towards a solution. Often times, we get very set in our ways and fail to bring in outside ideas. When this happens, people often find themselves in conflict. When this does arise, working through the problem and accepting ideas, coming to a common agreement, will always strengthen a team. The outcome is almost always building trust. The trust is built by knowing that others are going to be receptive to your ideas and take them into consideration and knowing that the team itself can work together to come up with the best possible outcome for the problem.
DeleteConversely, if a team fails to work through a problem, it can lead to a complete degradation of the team. People will start to shut down if they feel like they are not heard or that they are not valued. This happens when someone fails to take any information or ideas from others in the group. We often see this when we have a leader that thinks that their ideas are always the best or that they always know the answers because they have the most experience. Often times, the best ideas can come from someone else in the group. If we shut down those ideas, it will almost always lead to poor team performance and attitudes.
Nate,
DeleteI like how you brought up the part about some leaders thinking their ideas are always the best just because of their position or time of service. I worked under a leader who was very much a dictator. They accepted very little input or ideas from anyone. They could also be very vindictive when someone were to express opposition to their ideas. It was a morale killer. Most people gave up trying and the biggest concern became "what kind of mood is the boss in today?" Individual leaders had to do their best to support the smaller groups they had influence over, solicit ideas to make them feel like part of a team, and give them a voice where they could.
Nate,
DeleteThat is a great way to put it! I honestly never thought of the fact that trust can be built from the conflict. With this idea in mind I completely agree that once you realize that if the team had conflict and it was worked through, you now know they will take your ideas into consideration is extremely valid. Lastly, I think everyone on the team can agree and has been witness to the negative impacts conflict can cause and one of the impacts being "shutting down." Once people do not think their ideas are being taken into consideration, the slope is slippery. Great points!