Productive Conflict At Work, Part 2 – LinkedIn Responses

“Collaboration without conflict is mission impossible”

Since last weeks post on productive conflict at work, the linkedin answers to whether conflict at work can be productive have gone up from 118 to 121. With the quick overview of some of the theoretical positions on conflict presented in part 1, this post will focus on the point of view from the many linkedin professionals that have provided answers based on their own experiences and knowledgde. I thought the quote above from one of the responses captured their point of view well.

On The Definitions Of Conflict

How conflict is defined from a theoretical point of view is one thing, how people actually define it may be another. When is it appropriate to call a conflict productive? was one question that was raised. Since conflict is considered a negatively charged word for many people, keeping this in mind can be a smart tactic when dealing with conflicts. Other people may not share your point of view.

Another two interesting approaches are to distinguish between conflict and criticism, and, as one respondent said, there is no such thing as productive conflict.

Conflict as Beneficial

From the responses it is very clear that the majority finds that conflict can be productive at work. A large amount of the respondents even feel that it is essential to have conflicts for the organization to stay ahead of, or on par, with its competitors.   The main benefits of conflicts mentioned are:

Increased creativity and innovation
Better openness at work, and better ability to listen without prejudice
Increasing maturity as a result of every conflict that is solved constructively

Conflicts are seen as learning processes that are necessary for organizational growth and development. In line with research in the field, this compares to the idea of constructive (C-type, positive or task) conflict found when disagreement stays on target (i.e. the work tasks)

Conflict Management Strategies

Seeing that the majority see conflicts as assets, how do you manage to create and keep them constructive? I found the following interesting:

Take time-outs in order to regain composure
Keep the emotions out of the discussion
Cultivate the conflicts. Make people better at handling them.

The first two might easily come off as givens when working productively with conflicts. The third point, in my opinion, acknowledges the essence of conflict management strategies. By moving beyond the fear of conflicts, and seeing it as a learning experience rather than an obstacle, a solution oriented perspective on conflict is chosen.

I like the following quote, and I think it encapsulates the perspective on conflict as a productive asset well. “Conflict is beautiful at work. It means that the ideal has yet to be achieved”

Work With A Mutual Outcome In Mind

Having a mutual outcome was mentioned several times as necessary for work conflicts to have the chance at being productive. In the light of theory, this also common_cause-1 makes sense. When conflicts turn destructive, focus is one of the first factors to fall. Rather than targeting the assignment with the aim of a solution, the guns are pointed towards your colleagues. Without a strong conviction from the other parties of the conflict, the road to the downward spiral is short. Remember, as one of the LinkedIn professionals said it, “It’s not personal, just business”.

On a related note, conflict (re)solution approaches mentioned were to :

Take the conflict off-site when a situation is sliding toward the destructive path
Have a plan: Stick to the facts (do not make assumptions), state how something made you feel (stick to your own experiences and emotions)
Listen (seek to understand). Realize what the purpose is (to reach an outstanding solution to a situation)

And as one respondent stated: “Treat people with dignity”.

The Knowledge Of A Professional Network

Along with a focus on the productive side of conflicts in work situations, I hope this post shows you how you can use the questions & answers feature on LinkedIn as a source of first hand knowledge from professionals. If you’re not already taking advantage of this side of LinkedIn, I suggest you take some time to check it out.

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