Healthy conflict within the team - how to handle it as a project manager

The word ‘conflict’ conjures negative images of people disagreeing or arguing. The reality is that a little healthy conflict within a team is not necessarily unhealthy. Parallel Project Training courses teach people that a certain level of healthy conflict is important in well-functioning teams. The important thing when it comes to conflict is that it is respectful and does not become personal.

What is healthy conflict

Healthy conflict occurs when individuals in a team are allowed to express their ideas and thoughts in an open and honest way. This may be in direct disagreement with another individual. As long as the disagreement is aired respectfully and each member of the team is willing to hear each others' opinions, then this can lead to a valuable sharing of ideas and a forum for creativity.

Why should a manager encourage healthy conflict within a team?

Healthy conflict should be encouraged and nurtured. This only works in an environment of trust however. A project manager should work to create an environment of openness and trust between members of the team by keeping open channels of communication and encouraging people to share their thoughts and dissenting views in a safe environment.

Ensuring that every member of the team has their say means that a forum is opened up for every opinion to be heard. Providing a safe forum enables more creative solutions, innovative thinking and more positive outcomes.

If there are individuals in the team who feel that they cannot share their point of view then resentment can build and it will be harder to nurture a team that works well together. It is crucial that every voice is heard and every opinion is valued. Although it may be time consuming and potentially difficult to manage in the first instance, this whole team activity will create a group of people who work better together in the long run.

How can a manager keep conflict healthy?

An important skill that is taught during project management apprenticeships is how to encourage healthy conflict, despite our instinct to avoid conflict at all costs. Here are some ideas to keep the conflict honest yet friendly:

• Encourage assertiveness rather than aggressiveness.
• Help people to understand their communication style and suggest ways that they can modify their behaviour in order to appear assertive rather than combative.
• Keep the topic focused on an issue rather than on the behaviour of an individual.
• Keep the topic focused and encourage people to get to the point and achieve clarity.
• Ensure that an individual feels heard and understood by repeating back to them what they have said. If they feel that you have heard them then they are less likely to respond defensively.
• Try to begin a sentence with "I feel", rather than "you should", for example. This will provoke a less defensive response.
• Make it clear that individuals do not need to agree with each other but should try to understand each other's point of view.

These are just a few tips to managing conflict within your team – which ones have worked for you?

The author has written and published articles on a wide range of topics including Small Business Advice, Tax and Accounting, Interior Design, House Renovation and Project Management.