Not all conflict is
bad.
Actually, conflict is
often a sign of strong emotional engagement.
No, I am not advocating
a conflict culture like many consulting gurus out there.
And I agree that too
much of a good thing can be destructive.
If you allow conflict
to escalate and get out of hand, your relationships may become permanently
damaged…
But if you defuse every
conflict immediately in your desire to restore harmony, the energy required to
make positive change happen may evaporate in the process, too.
I usually only
get really worried when things seem to have gone very quiet in my client
organizations.
If you are a parent, you probably know that you need to go and
check on your kids when they have been too quiet for a long time.
Recently I have been
asked by several large corporations to conduct conflict resolution workshops
with their leadership teams.
But instead of trying to defuse the conflicts they
may be experiencing as quickly as possible, I ask them to leverage, focus and
direct the powerful energy inherent in these conflicts in a creative manner.
By learning how to
orchestrate and manage conflict in ways that ensure a high level of emotional
engagement, cognitive tension and creative energy, these business leaders are
able to generate much better solutions, as well as a stronger sense of
commitment and cohesiveness, with all parties involved.