Reduce The Conflict On Your Team

Is your team in conflict?

If your team is large enough (say, more than three people!) that's about like asking if they are breathing. Put people together, and you will find some conflict.

Some conflict is necessary to work thru issues, to generate new ideas, to test assumptions. Too much conflict and the team loses effectiveness.

As leaders, we must keep listening to our team. What's going on that drives them crazy? Where are they running into struggles? Who is having trouble getting along?

Reducing the conflict on your team will liberate more creativity.

How?

Make sure that people can express themselves and that when they do, that they agree to communicate with respect. A little respect goes a long way, but a lot of respect is needed to keep a team going.

Other ways to reduce the conflict in your team include making sure that you have agreements on roles and responsibilities. Seek and arrive at clarity on who does what. Make sure that your people have the tools they need to do their job. Challenge them, but always with respect and with the compassion to know when too much is simply too much.

A balanced leader leads a balanced team, so keep your own focus and center yourself around your core strengths -- not just when times are tough, but all the time. Use your core strengths in generous and yet appropriate portions. The right combination and balance of clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion makes for success in solving problems and achieving your goals.

What can you do today to get ahead of the conflict on your team and help you to keep your balance and focus? Will you do that?

-- Doug Smith

Comments

Let Them See You Work

If you can't seem to hire good performers with a solid work ethic, you might need to develop them. Maybe start by showing them what that looks like, or as John Maxwell has said "Know the way, show the way, and go the way." You know, walk the talk. I know a LOT of leaders who complain about work ethic. Maybe they need to let their people see them work... -- doug smith

Leadership Warning

If you visit the dark side, don't get stuck there. -- doug smith

Careful Expectations

Change agents don't always play by the rules. Expecting them to is the act of a fool. -- doug smith

Celebrate Progress

When was the last time that you were frustrated in trying to learn something? If you can't remember, maybe it's time to learn something new -- something tough and challenging. Truly worthwhile endeavors are often struggles. The satisfaction comes not only in the final result, but also in the progress toward that final result. The best way to avoid a sad let-down once a goal is achieved is to enjoy the journey all the way thru. Celebrate your progress! Not so much that you feel finished, but enough so that you feel able. Celebrate progress, and then keep on progressing. As that beat poet and philosopher Harry X. Tudas once said, "Feel in the groove but continue to improve." -- doug smith

Freedom and Responsibility

Freedom without responsibility produces more harm than good. Responsibility without freedom sparks certain revolution. High performance leaders don't FIND the balance, they CREATE the balance. Start by listening. -- doug smith

Start Positive

I went thru a grumpy period in my life. It was like a rut that was so deep no light could get in. It fed on its own bumpy grumpiness until that's all I could feel. Yuck. Forget that now. Now, I start with a positive thought. I could be wrong about finding the silver lining, but I've learned that I won't see the silver lining unless I look for it, and that's the place to start. Even the smallest positive effort has a positive impact. Let's start there. -- doug smith

Feedback Takes Practice

How good are you at providing feedback? If you're not sure, ask your team members. If you are good at it, they'll tell you. If you're not good at it, then maybe they will and maybe they won't. Feedback does not come easy. Skillful, useful feedback that improves both performance AND self-esteem is a delicate balance of recognizing positives and occasionally providing insights on areas of improvement -- all placed into the context of why it matters. Without the "why" -- why the feedback matters, why the improvement matters, why the performance matters, all the feedback you can muster will only fluster whoever you provide it to. Tell them what they did that was great, ask how they could make it even greater, and share with them why it all makes a difference. Because unless it really makes a difference who cares? Feedback, like any skill, takes practice. -- doug smith

Pro-active Prioritizing

Stop setting goals you don't believe in. They will only slow you down. -- doug smith

Courageous Creativity!

Others might fear your creativity, but you don't need to. Stay courageous, stay creative, stay compassionate, stay clear. Sing your song no matter who listens! -- doug smith

Building Discipline

It would be easy to skip my morning, or afternoon, or evening push-ups. Heck, I did skip them for most of my life. But regular exercise is a discipline that won't do itself. We don't have to like or enjoy discipline-building habits in order to need them. The drills prove, over and over, that we do. Start small if you need to, but definitely start. -- doug smith

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