Harmonizing Discord: Leveraging Conflict to Foster Creative Thinking
Cultivating creative thinking within an innovation team, especially during times of conflict, is a delicate yet crucial process. Conflict, while often viewed negatively, can be a powerful catalyst for creativity if managed correctly.
One of the things I emphasize most when I'm facilitating innovation or leading my teams is that respectful conflict is what we need to create good, disruptive products.
Conflict means the team is passionate about what they're building
Conflict means the solution for what we're building is not obvious
Conflict means we're empowering diverse ideas and opinions
Reminding your team that the uncomfortable state of "conflict" is an expected part of the creative process will help people lean into it and drive better outcomes.
Here are my 10 steps to harnessing conflict constructively:
Embrace Diverse Perspectives: Conflict often arises from diverse viewpoints. Encourage team members to view this diversity as a strength, not a hindrance. Each perspective can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the problem at hand, leading to more innovative solutions.
Establish a Safe Environment: A safe environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their ideas without fear of ridicule or retribution is essential. This psychological safety can foster open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas, even in the face of disagreement. Reiterate that this uncomfortable feeling is expected and a part of the process.
Define Common Goals: Aligning the team with common goals can help shift the focus from individual differences to collective outcomes. When everyone is working towards the same objective, conflicts become less personal and more task-oriented. For example, my teams are motivated by the speed at which they make decisions, not by the number of products they release. This empowers them to focus on driving the right outcomes, rather than creating an environment where opinions are steamrolled in the interest of hitting a metric.
Encourage Healthy Debate: Healthy debate is a sign of a dynamic team. Set ground rules for discussions to ensure they remain constructive and focused on the issues, not the individuals involved. This can help prevent conflicts from becoming counterproductive. One of the core tenets we agree to in our team is that we will "disagree and commit." That means this healthy debate happens in the room together, but once we leave we have a unified approach, and there will never be an "I told you so" should that approach be wrong.
Leverage Conflict for Creativity: Use conflict as a trigger for brainstorming sessions. The tension can be a source of energy and urgency, pushing team members to think outside the box and consider unconventional ideas they might not have otherwise. Conflict means your team sees multiple solutions - leaning into that will give you a better outcome.
Foster Empathy: Encourage team members to practice empathy. Understanding each other's viewpoints can reduce friction and lead to a more harmonious and creative collaboration. Not everyone will feel comfortable in these situations, so reaching out 1x1 can help ensure everyone feels seen.
Promote Active Listening: Active listening is key to resolving conflicts. By truly hearing and considering each other's ideas, team members can build on them, leading to innovative solutions that might not have been reached individually. Sometimes this might mean using a facilitation technique like "Six Hats", which assigns limited-scope roles to individuals during the ideation.
Implement Conflict Resolution Strategies: Have a toolkit of conflict resolution strategies ready. Whether it's role reversal or simply taking a break to cool off, knowing how to de-escalate tension can help maintain a creative environment.
Recognize and Reward Collaboration: Recognize and reward team members who collaborate effectively, especially during conflicts. This can incentivize positive interactions and reinforce the value of teamwork in the creative process.
Reflect and Learn from Conflicts: After a conflict, encourage the team to reflect on what happened and what was learned. This can turn conflicts into valuable learning experiences that strengthen the team's ability to work creatively together in the future. By viewing conflict as an opportunity rather than a barrier, innovation teams can cultivate a creative thinking process that thrives on the dynamic interplay of differing ideas and perspectives. It's not about avoiding conflict but about managing it in a way that enriches the team's collective creativity.
