Successful high-performance teams will always deal with conflict. Unresolved conflicts usually turn into breakdowns that can jeopardize a breakthrough project.
In fact, the absence of conflict may be a sign that the team is avoiding difficult conversations by maintaining a superficial harmony. When conflict arises, what matters is how the conflict is successfully resolved. Constructively coaching conflict opens the possibility of creativity and innovation. Many times conflict gives the team access to what they didn’t know they didn’t know.
The ERM Process develops the competency to allow members of the team to coach conflict effectively. This is accomplished by:
- Providing tools for the team to coach and resolve conflict by first understanding how each person sees the conflict and why they see it that way
- Educating each person on how to get behind “the eyes” of their team members to see what they are seeing
- Introducing them to tools on how to resolve the conflict creatively and in a manner that gains the full support of the team
- Creating a space where innovation can flourish
This all happens as the team learns to have open and honest conversations.