Isn’t the goal of leadership to help people get along and  avoid conflict? How can it possibly be a good thing for people to be in conflict with each other? And why would a leader want to mine for it?

Great questions. The first thing we need to do is clarify what we mean by conflict. I believe there is a difference between destructive and healthy conflict. I also believe that when people avoid healthy conflict it often leads to destructive conflict.

In HERBISM #16 I claimed that Leaders Pull Splinters. This provided a great visual for healthy conflict. Pulling splinters can hurt depending on how deep the splinter has penetrated. Pulling splinters requires a form of conflict–going after an issue, disrupting the status quo, and removing an obstacle or impediment.

On the flip side imagine what happens when a splinter is ignored. It usually leads to an infection as it festers. Eventually the damage and discomfort it causes is much more severe.

Now imagine how a team works together in an organization to achieve the best possible outcomes for its stakeholders.

Great leaders understand that all options need to be on the table in order to make the best possible decisions. And, in order to get all the options on the table every member of a leadership team needs [a safe environment in which] to speak their minds openly without holding back.

Great leaders recognize that when people are holding back trust is lacking. Hence, they mine for conflict and address issues head-on instead of shrinking away.

Great leaders embrace vulnerability knowing that if they don’t go first their people won’t follow. In the process trust and healthy conflict emerge and lead to an environment of creativity and communication.

In the words of Patrick Lencioni, author of The Advantage – How Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business, “In an environment of trust, conflict is nothing more than the pursuit of truth in order to achieve the best possible results”.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.