Functional Conflict: Harnessing the Power of Differences

Conflict is often viewed as something negative, but would you believe that conflict can actually be a positive force in our lives?

Functional conflict, when managed properly, can lead to better decision-making, increased creativity and improved relationships. And that’s what I’d like to reflect on for this post.

So let’s start by defining functional conflict. It is a type of conflict that is focused on achieving goals and utilizes healthy debate and discussion between people who have different viewpoints and ideas. In functional conflict, you are not attacking each other personally; rather, the focus is on finding the best solution to a problem. And there’s a lot of great things that can result from using it:

Better decision making. When people are encouraged to share their ideas and perspectives, it leads to a more diverse set of options for the group to consider. And I’d suggest that the broader our thinking, the more choices we will consider and discuss, and the better our decision will ultimately be.

Say you’re in a car and want to go somewhere. You know one way to go and that’s what you decide to follow. However, if there are others in the car with you – perhaps someone who is more familiar with the area or someone who has Maps on their phone – they might offer an alternative that is quicker, or maybe a path that’s longer but much more scenic. The lack of discussion means that attractive alternatives might be missed. Assuming your situation permits it, isn’t it better to have all the options available up front to then decide which best meets your needs?

Increased creativity. When people are encouraged to share their ideas and perspectives – in a safe and welcoming environment – it can lead to new and innovative ideas being put forward because we’re encouraged to take risks. This, in turn, can lead to new products, different solutions or approaches that can benefit everyone. The key is to remain nonjudgmental. The old “there’s no bad ideas” mentality encourages everyone to put forward their ideas. Creativity thrives on unique and unusual thinking, which then often leads you to strange and unexpected places… including some that just won’t work out. You need to foster an environment where it’s perfectly fine to throw seemingly foolish thoughts out as it may spark you in an unexpected direction. Your group can then consider and choose what is best.

I remember taking part in one of those outdoor leadership exercises years ago. There were 25 or so of us taking part and one of the first things we did had everyone being given a Hulu hoop. We were told to place it on the ground and to keep our feet inside it. No problem. We all stood inside our rings. The facilitators then came and took half the Hulu hoops away. We paired up and, again, were told to keep our feet inside the hoops. The process continued with larger and larger groups of people squeezing into the circles, often holding onto each other to keep from falling out.

We were down to 2 or 3 Hulu hoops and no one could keep everyone in at the same time. People kept falling out. Finally, this one woman gave an exasperated snort, said “This is ridiculous” and sat down on the ground… with her foot still in the circle. I stared at her in disbelief and realized she’d just come up with the answer. Our whole group sat down comfortably and were easily able to place all our feet – the only required body part – inside. But it took this flash of inspiration (and irritation) from my coworker to show us the way.

Improved relationships. This may or may not be obvious, but practicing functional conflict can actually improve relationships between people. How? Well, when people are encouraged to share their ideas and perspectives – and they aren’t immediately judged or shot down – that often leads to increased trust and respect. This, in turn, can lead to better collaboration and communication between everyone.

I’ve been on numerous projects that have faced critical issues; things that put the whole project at risk of crashing and burning. The worst sessions were the ones where people got into a room and started finger-pointing and were actively trying to avoid blame. The absolute best were where a strong leader took control, identified the issue we were facing, and asked for everyone’s best ideas on how to solve them. If anyone tried to veer into finger-pointing, it was quickly shut down and everyone was reminded that our goal was to solve the problem. There’d be time to review what had happened and what lessons to take from it later. By approaching things that way, these leaders set a tone for their project that showed we valued everyone’s input and that we were in this together. People were called upon to be the best versions of themselves.

Be Careful to Avoid Dysfunctional Conflict

On the flip side of the coin, dysfunctional conflict is often focused on personal attacks and negative emotions. It is characterized by hostility, defensiveness, and a lack of cooperation (this is probably the kind of conflict that most of us think of by default). Dysfunctional conflict can lead to the exact opposite of what we discuss above – poor decision-making, decreased creativity, and damaged relationships.

There can be a lot of causes dysfunctional conflict including personality clashes, communication breakdowns and a lack of trust. The way to help combat those things is to foster a culture of respect, collaboration, and open communication whether at work or in your personal life.

But how do you do that?

It’ll certainly depend on everyone’s specific circumstances, but there are certain guidelines that can help:

1. Encourage open communication: Create an environment where everyone feel comfortable sharing their ideas and perspectives. Don’t allow ideas to be shot down as soon as they’re shared; instead, do things in waves, coming up with all ideas first and then shift to a more reflective discussion around what seems the most viable ways forward.
   
2. Focus on the task: Encourage everyone to focus on finding the best solution to a problem, rather than attacking each other personally. As much as possible, egos need to be checked at the door and you can help with that by reminding your group that the goal is to solve the problem and that you’re all working together to do that.
   
3. Embrace diversity: Encourage diversity of thought and perspective, and be open to new and innovative ideas. Again, “there’s no bad idea” is a good place to start. Yes, some suggestions will likely be crossed off your mental list as soon as they’re said but what you’re trying to foster is an environment where there’s a creative flow. Stopping and debating specific ideas interrupts that and shifts our thinking from creating to critiquing and defending. You’ll get to the decision making eventually but up front, you want diverse thinking.
   
4. Foster a culture of respect: Create a culture where everyone respects each other’s opinions, even if they disagree. None of us will be right all the time and we’ll all offer up some goofy ideas. That’s okay. Sometimes we just need to speak an idea to get it out of our heads and clear space for the next idea to form. Crazy ideas can even spark a better idea from someone else. You can lead by modelling this accepting behavior that you want everyone to follow.
   
5. Manage conflict effectively: When conflict does arise – and it will – it needs to be managed effectively. This includes listening to all perspectives, identifying common ground, and finding a solution that everyone can agree on. It may also mean calling out what is happening, not to critique the people involved but rather to remind your group of your mission and how you’re going about it. By focusing on the task/goal, encouraging all ideas to be brought forward and by being respectful to each other.

Sometimes, it feels like conflict gets a bad reputation which, frankly, can be deserved especially if it’s of the dysfunctional sort. But functional conflict can be an incredible tool that will actually improve your thinking and the dynamics between you and those around you.

Know that I’m pulling for you!