A FAILURE AT THE MOST CRUCIAL MOMENT RESULTING FROM A FEAR OF CONFLICT IN THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
In a recent five dysfunction workshop, one team member from the leadership team shared a story that demonstrates the cost of avoiding conflict in teams. It is shared (de-identified) with their permission.
It was a team, from a previous workplace, involved in an international competitive sport on the world stage.
Clearly there was a lot at stake. Winning didn’t just mean the team achieving their goal, but also international and national recognition that would encourage others across their country.
It was the executive leader of the team who made a decision to buy a part for the racing machine that others on the team didn’t agree with. But, they didn’t dare question the leader about it.
Fast forward to the international competition, after months and years of training and preparation, everything comes down to the next few hours and minutes. Then, something terrible happened.
During the race, the part snapped!
The very part that the executive team (and indeed the athletes) were uncomfortable with, but weren’t able to question, was the very thing that cost them a chance at winning the race. Their race was immediately over. They were out. Can you imagine the disappointment, frustration and humiliation???
Why did this happen?
Onlookers could blame poor luck and talk about how unfortunate it was. But those on the inside knew the real reason.
The culture in the leadership team did not allow that decision to be challenged. This is what cost them the race at a crucial moment.
Conflict in teams is not just tolerable or OK, it is essential. If you don’t have it, you are not truly working as a team. It’s that simple.
Lack of conflict on a team not only costs time and wastes money, but it means you lose opportunities, and it can cripple your chance of success or impact.
Conflict is uncomfortable, which is often why its avoided, but when teams understand its benefit and the cost of avoiding it, they see the obvious need to take the courage to go there.
At Blue Skies, we help teams go there. We help teams to understand the cost, in their own language using their own experiences, and help them take the courage and the first steps into necessary conflict. Not interpersonal conflict, but the conflict of ideas and the ability to challenge decisions and question other team members. The conflict of ideas in teams produces the best decisions, because it draws on the collective expertise of the group.
Contact Blue Skies to hear how you can become a high performing team and overcome team dysfunction.
Don’t let the avoidance of conflict cripple your success.
