Why leaders need the skill, will and knowledge to handle conflict

In my role as a consultant and executive coach, I have seen countless examples of leaders and managers who avoided dealing with an issue or making a difficult decision because they did not have the skill, will or knowledge to handle conflict in the workplace. In all cases, their actions were detrimental to them, their teams, and in several situations detrimental to their organisation. This approach led to frustration, poor decision-making, and underperformance.

Some of the most effective organisations I have worked for have had a high degree of healthy tension, and at times, openly expressed conflicting views among managers and leaders. The ethos of those organisations was the questioning and the challenging of views of others ensures all critical decision-making was the best it could be. I saw this approach reduce groupthink, and it allowed individuals to get behind decisions rather than opposing them in a passive-aggressive way.

This is not to say that all organisational conflict is good. I have observed and worked with individuals and teams who have thrived on conflict. In some instances, they have used conflict and the fear of conflict to get their own way, and to push through agendas that were personally beneficial but ultimately harmful to the organisation. I have seen this at its worst when the individuals and at times their teams have deluded themselves into believing that they were doing it for the betterment of the organisation.

As in all things, balance is key. As the author of a Harvard Business Review article on the subject of helping your team feel more comfortable with conflict says, “the ability to get issues on the table and work through them constructively is critical to having a healthy organisational culture.” It is therefore essential that individuals have the skills and aptitude to deal with conflict and challenging situations, and the understanding of why it is important to do so. However, for this to work well, individuals and teams need to know that they work in an environment of trust and respect, and this I would suggest, is the responsibility of leaders and managers to create and maintain.

Michael Mitchell