What does conflict really cost me? Worst case? Your company’s existence! But even if we don’t assume the worst, conflicts cost your company time, money, energy and massively disrupt business procedures. When, day in, day out, a desk clerk is annoyed by a colleague, she is definitely not focused on her work. And when a salesman is obsessing over the conflict with his superior, you can be sure he will eventually lose customers. […]
So, should leaders push the panic button the moment they hear of a conflict in their team or workforce? Of course not. There’s nothing unusual about conflicts amongst human beings. Whether in your private or professional life, all human interaction is shaped by consent and dissent. When two people come together a conflict can (and will) arise. When many people come together, like in a company, many conflicts can (and will) arise. That´s life!
For some, conflicts are per se negative. They forget that conflicts are launching pads for opportunity. Conflicts draw attention to problems and strengthen the desire to resolve them, to make changes for the better. For some, it takes a conflict to produce the necessary pressure to finally get moving. At the same time, conflicts deepen human relationships and heighten team solidarity. By confronting a conflict, team members learn more about each other. They are obligated to grapple with each other’s points of view and are possibly called on to argue in defense of their own position – an experience that can improve decision-making skills. In general, conflicts support personality development. Not everything we initially deem negative is destined to have only negative results. Every single day, we rise to a thousand small and large challenges. Conflicts are part of the game. We can use them to help us grow.
It’s unclear when exactly a conflict becomes damaging for a team or company. The criteria are simply too subjective. Some leaders view a heated discussion between employees as a conflict, which isn’t necessarily the case. A deep-seated conflict arises when a discussion escalates to irreconcilable differences and the both sides are relentlessly adamant. A difference of opinion can harbor a potential conflict but is not (yet) considered one. Consider this: With a solid team structure; with a basically positive, solution-oriented debate culture in the company; when every team member knows her own and the others’ limits, differences of opinion can be easily settled. When, under such conditions, a conflict does arise, it is quickly resolved. Discussions or conflicts can be very loud and emotional, which doesn’t mean they have to escalate to irreconcilability. The team’s leader can contribute greatly to restoring peace by moderating and seeking an acceptable solution for all those involved.
There are, however, leaders who consistently avoid conflicts, preferring to look the other way instead of confronting them head on. Why? There are two possibilities. Either they haven’t a clue how to deal with the situation or they haven’t recognized the conflict for what it is. Unfortunately, ignore it and it’ll go away has never worked when it comes to an embedded conflict. On the contrary, over time, the conflict becomes a boomerang. What may have started as a hot, but harmless, debate becomes a serious conflict, the fire fed by employees each time the topic swings around until it escalates into a bitter feud. You could compare it with a brush fire out of control.
As a result, the team’s productivity and performance dwindle dramatically. Up to 70 percent of the energy intended for work is invested in the conflict, the hottest topic in employees’ minds that unfortunately spreads far and away from those directly involved. Just think of how often team members, or the entire company for that matter, talk about the conflict. And we don’t mean they’re talking about the conflict itself, about initiating possible solutions, nor about the direct costs the conflict is possibly incurring. No, we mean the enormous energy bound up in these talks, about how much they distract from work assignments, and about the time wasted that could be used so much more productively. […]
As we mentioned earlier, there are other costs you won’t find on a balance sheet. Persistent bad vibes in a company or team eventually weaken employee resilience: Absenteeism, defective goods or services and the employee termination rate increase, the latter bringing the company higher fluctuation costs. Of course, the bad news doesn’t stay within company walls but steadily oozes outward. Employer branding suffers and the number of unsolicited applications drops, it becomes increasingly difficult to find employees. No one wants to work for a business with a bad reputation.
It’s very difficult to break out of this vicious circle, which is why it is absolutely necessary that you, the leader, intervene early on when you have the feeling a sprouting conflict could spiral out of control. Sometimes bringing in external support makes sense. In the early stages of a conflict you must first speak with those directly involved. Usually a one-on-one conversation reveals the cause of the conflict and a solution is quickly found. If you discover, however, that the conflict is more deeply rooted, that a solution escapes your grasp and a there are no prospects of coming to a consensus, then outside help is imperative. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness, but of intelligence. When the battlelines have been dug in for a siege, the only way to a truce are fresh approaches and perspectives.
An excerpt from the book “Leadership is More – 27 Questions We Too Can Answer” written by Gianni, Jan & Marcello Liscia, 2022
