Let’s do
great things

Creating an environment where constructive conflict can thrive is crucial for effective leadership and team dynamics. We all know that a team environment where people are disengaged and acting from a position of people pleasing – is counter-productive to tapping in to the potential within your team. If you, as the leader, wanted robots to do the work, we now have AI for that. On the flip side of that, conflict that isn’t respectful and constructive can lead to unnecessary boat rocking and an uncomfortable work environment.

We’re all about giving you the tools and information to create a safe environment for progressive conflict and welcoming challenge – so here’s a brief overview of the ‘what’ you need to be doing and focussing on:

1. Establish Psychological Safety: Encourage open communication by ensuring team members feel safe expressing their opinions, ideas, and concerns without fear of judgment. You, as the leader, can demonstrate vulnerability yourself, admit mistakes, and encourage others to do the same. As always, it starts with you.
2. Set Clear Expectations: Define the boundaries for constructive conflict, making it clear that disagreements are welcomed as long as they are respectful and focused on the task at hand. Emphasise the importance of maintaining professionalism and avoiding personal attacks. You do this by encouraging everyone to take radical responsibility for their own opinions, thoughts and emotions – no, “they made me feel like xyz”.
3. Promote Active Listening: Encourage active listening skills among team members. This involves fully engaging with what others are saying, seeking to understand their perspective, and asking clarifying questions when necessary. Leaders can model active listening behaviours in meetings and interactions – minimise your distractions, show up on time and focus on being fully present with your people.
4. Encourage Diverse Perspectives: Actively seek out diverse viewpoints and encourage team members to voice their opinions, even if they differ from the majority. Recognise that diversity of thought leads to better decision-making and innovation. In fact, ask your team – what’s the opposite of this solution? What’s the most out of the box, illogical way to approach this? Expand your thinking = expand your solutions.
5. Facilitate Constructive Dialogue: Create opportunities for structured discussions where conflicting ideas can be explored in a productive manner. Use techniques such as brainstorming, debate, or role-playing to encourage creativity and critical thinking while managing conflicts.
6. Provide Constructive Feedback: Help team members develop the skills needed to give and receive feedback effectively. Encourage feedback to be specific, actionable, and focused on behaviour rather than personal attributes and results. For example; if a team member that is lagging in their KPI’s – instead fo focussing on the lack of performance, ask great questions to determine why they are disengaged and dropping the ball. Another example: if a team member has shut down or cut off soemone else’s idea or contribution, ask them what was the driver behind that response or reaction – aka: get to the root cause. This is a great tool to routinely include in your 1:1 meetings with direct reports – and encourage them to do the same with their teams and people too.
7. Resolve Conflicts Promptly: Address conflicts as soon as they arise to prevent escalation and minimise negative impact on team morale and productivity. Act as a mediator when necessary, facilitating resolution through open dialogue and compromise. Keep a playful demeanour early on, to encourage others to remain light hearted and avoid slipping in to negative debate and attack towards each other.
8. Celebrate Learning and Growth: Emphasise that constructive conflict is a natural part of the problem-solving process and an opportunity for learning and growth. Acknowledge and celebrate instances where conflicts lead to positive outcomes or innovative solutions. To further this, celebrate failure as feedback and reinforce that it is all a part of the journey – there are no stupid ideas, just missed ideas when not voiced and brought forward.

By implementing these strategies, leaders can create a culture where constructive conflict is not only accepted but embraced as a valuable tool for driving progress and achieving shared goals.

As mentioned earlier, these tools and reminders are ‘what’ to do. Great leaders not only implement practices such as the above, they also embody the qualities of a great leader across the board. You can do all of the ‘right’ practices as a leader and still miss the mark because your personal energy and expression is demeaning instead of inspiring.

Whilst it’s important to ask great questions and get to the root cause of the behaviour of your team, it is also important to have the same level of introspection and self analysis to encourage your own growth and development.

This ^ is a Mindfluencer.

Mindfluencer: Change minds. Influence People.

Ready to become one?

Let’s do great things.