In a recent presentation of "Productive Conflict: Conversation to Collaboration," participants listed the positive outcomes of conflict. Among them were clarification of misunderstandings, innovation in seeking solutions, and trust in working relationships that could withstand disagreement.
By definition, conflict means a dispute or a disagreement, and by experience it means an opportunity has presented itself. Conflict is neither good nor bad, it simply is inevitable. This realization suggests each of us must be accountable to ensure that conflict becomes productive. We must stay in conversation to find our way out of the tangle of disputes arising from shared resources and goals, limited time and money, differing values and priorities, and changing skill sets and technology. Recently, several small groups struggled with some of the sources of conflict in a puzzle game designed to simulate real expectations and dilemmas. Each table team was given a packet of pieces of playing cards and the following instruction from the facilitator, "Put as many whole cards together as you can. I'll check in with you in 15 minutes."
Assumptions circulated: (1)we must put our cards together and get as many as possible to beat the other teams; (2) we have a deadine; (3) we have all the pieces we need to make whole cards; (4) each team must work independently from the others; and (5) whole cards are accomplished when the faces of the cards are complete as the original cards looked in the new deck.
As teams worked, tension and frustration crept into the interaction. A scarcity of resources eventually led someone to ask the facilitator, "Can we talk with other groups?" Then teams began sending runners out to find the pieces they needed for their dismembered cards: "Do you guys have Diamonds?" and "That group has the other half of the King of Spades!" Then a woman exclaimed, "Someone has pieces in their pocket--I'm convinced of it!"
Teams had different strategies to accomplish the goal. One team abandoned its table with their pieces displayed for others to take. Another team stayed in place around their pieces and observed as others traded pieces, ultimately assembling the observing team's cards through no effort of their own! One individual explained her behavior and ulterior motive, "I've been giving pieces away so we'll get out of here sooner." Still another team accomplished its understanding of the goal by arranging their cards into wholes by working the back of the cards into a congruent design. That really distressed some individuals who could not see the face side of the cards to see if the pieces they neeed were literally face down. One woman suggested, "Let's put all the pieces on one table," but no one moved to do that: later the teams agreed that it was too much trouble to do it.
When conflict arises, ask questions and listen to perspectives. Do you all understand the goal and how to accomplish it in the same way? What assumptions are apparent as the conversation uncovers misunderstandings, misconceptions, and misinformation? When instuctions or goals are vague or confusing, how do you find your way? Does your team work as independent individuals or as a unified front? Does our team process conflict to determine how to ensure performance and productivity?
After lots of laughs and negotiations, the five teams successfully assembled a deck of cards from 200 pieces in approximately 20 minutes. The surprise: push through the conflicts to identify the opportunities presented and to create the successful results worthy of the participants!
No comments:
Post a Comment