In his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, one of Patrick Lencioni’s five dysfunctions is Fear of Conflict. He contends that fear of conflict can actually create more conflict as unaddressed issues get bottled up and personal resentment grows. The pursuit of artificial harmony prevents candid discussion of critical issues. If getting along becomes more important than tackling tough topics, you’re setting the team up for failure.
If artificial harmony is counterproductive, do we instead want team members to be fighting like cats and dogs? Let’s remember that cats and dogs can exist peacefully and amicably once they develop both tolerance and respect. So if these different species can figure it out, why can’t we?
