In my experience, people on teams come with their own expectations and definitions of what conflict means -and, more often than not, it rarely is defined as productive. I have had the opportunity over the last several years to work with dozens of teams in discussing and reaching agreement on their unique conflict norms that will guide their debate/discussion and ultimately an effective decision all can support. In fact, this process itself becomes an example that we can refer to for how they discuss and decide.
An important factor to consider is that cultural differences may exist within a group
, particularly in relation to individual levels of comfort with conflict arising during a team meeting. A variety of reasons can influence people’s perceptions of the value of and the appropriate way to handle conflict, such as the country or region in which they were born, their nationality or ethnic makeup, how they were raised, and various other life experiences that have shaped them.
It is critical to reach an agreement on the norms that dictate how the team will deal with conflict, because neglecting to address conflict in a straightforward manner, increases the risk of gaining compliance, but failing to achieve any true commitment to these team decisions. Even if some members may not have joined the team with a high level of comfort with conflict, the team as a whole must become adept at facing and managing it. There is an impressive impact on teams who make the courageous choice to embrace conflict.
FireFly Facilitation's Process for Developing Conflict Norms
I begin the process by giving everyone their own handout with the list below of categories and sample norms. I then give them these instructions (which they are to complete individually before the group discussion):
Common Goal:
Environment:
Participant Behavior:
Decision Parameters:
Decision Process:
Commitment to Outcome:
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