Conflict: is it Good for Business?

Conflict: Is it good for business?

Why do we need conflict?

Global competition, e-commerce, skills shortages, increasing regulation and red tape have in recent years highlighted the imperative of continuous change in business. Piled on top of these forces for change we now have to contend with an economic slowdown: shrinking markets, downward price pressure and increasing costs. To carry on business as usual in these circumstances would surely spell disaster.

Productive conflict is the best way to stir up impassioned debate about the real issues, and to bring forward radical ideas that drive a quantum leap in performance. I often say that a good decision follows a good argument and compromise is the enemy of a good decision. Compromise causes us to give up on interesting, exciting and radical ideas meaning that what we’re left with are decisions that are distinctive only in that they produce little meaningful change.

Unfortunately awareness of the need for change and an appetite for change are not the same thing, as many would prefer that change was something that happened around them and not to them. Encouraging productive conflict is one of the best ways to overcome this inertia.

But don’t most people dislike conflict?

Yes mostly people recoil at the word “conflict” as it usually conjures up images of frayed tempers, angry words, heated arguments and damaged relationships. We are a pretty reserved and introverted bunch really and the majority of us therefore fear these outcomes and therefore conflict in general. But that’s because we don’t know that there are two types of conflict: destructive conflict, and productive conflict.

My dictionary defines conflict as “an active disagreement between people with opposing opinions or principles”, and there’s nothing in that definition about hurt feelings, angry words and all that other negative stuff. The real issue with conflict is whether we have the skill and self-control to deal with it positively and productively.

 So what is destructive conflict?

In a typical argument (destructive conflict) the debate is contaminated by things like hidden agendas, competition, self-protection, fear and pride. Essentially the participants are focussed on themselves and their needs, rather than what’s best for the team. In destructive conflict people tend to personalise the argument by saying things like:

• “I disagree with you...” or
  
  




• “You’re wrong…”
  

Time an again I’ve seen these kind of statements ignite tempers and emotions leading to defensiveness and counter-attacks. Whether those personalised comments are meant that way or not is irrelevant, because that’s the way they are perceived.

What else characterises destructive conflict?

Bad arguments are usually no better than a battle of opinions and it’s impossible to hold a productive debate if we’re just batting opinions back and forth. Let me give you an example: Newcastle United is a much better football club than Sunderland: fact or opinion? Well that depends on which club you support of course.

If you’ve witnessed two opposing football supporters “discussing” the merits of their preferred team you’ll have seen that neither side is really listening and is using the time when their combatant is speaking to construct their next retort, accusation or justification. All of which is a bit too much like an argument between operations and sales on the reasons why profits are down. Opinion based arguments achieve nothing because one person’s opinion is as valid to them as yours is to you.

So what is productive conflict?

Productive conflict is characterised by respect for each others’ point-of-view and patient in-depth exploration of the real issues. People involved in productive conflict seek to understand their colleagues’ point-of-view before seeking to explain their own. They ask questions to identify whether the information and assumptions their colleagues’ opinions are based on are valid. When they explain their own point-of-view they also take the time to ensure that the basis of their opinion is understood. Consequently the discussion filters out flawed assumptions and misinformation meaning that the decisions made are justifiable and benefit from unanimous support.

What’s involved in learning how to do productive conflict?

Firstly you have to look at the way you debate issues now and find out whether it is unproductive and is hurting your business. If discussions in your business mostly resemble opinion table tennis resulting in decisions that are not carried through, you are not likely to be improving fast enough to keep ahead of your competition. The second step is to find someone who can help you with this. Learning new behaviours and habits is very difficult without the input of an objective and skilled facilitator who can spot your bad habits and show you how to learn better ones.

Copyright Christopher D Baxter. All Rights Reserved.