We all have sat through meetings. Even when we do not agree, we keep it to ourselves. Later we vent out at the water cooler , during Coffee chat and at the Parking lot. Those moments to me are totally unproductive as we tend to narrow the conflict to the person and not to the issue. How do we handle conflicts better ? How do we leverage conflicts? The very outset of conflict is seen as unproductive or negative.
Last week Patric Lencioni’s Video came along my way where he mentions about the conflict in teams. It gave me the words and narrative which I have been waiting for so long.
Conflict, if it is done in a productive way without hurting the person’s emotions / feelings can generate better ideas in meetings. The target of the conflict should always be the issue and not the person. We can disagree and commit (Intel -Motto) and we can agree to disagree (as I do with my wife!).
I started using it in my day to day life. The Switch we need to make is in the choice of words and language.
- Mr. X , I understood your point. However this is my view and I am not sure I completely agree with your point of view.
- Given the context we are looking at these ideas i have a diametrically opposite suggestion.
Conflict is a good thing and it gets the best out of discussions if we can engage productively and meetings can be energy busters than energy drainers.
Focus on the issue and not the person who created or amplified the issue. In medical.terms – we have to focus on the cause and not the symptom or the effect.
All the best Vinod.