Team conflict is costly; here’s the price my company paid

The right kind of “positive” conflict can sometimes lead to better results in business (and even church).

But how much of this kind of good conflict have you really experienced?

Even if you’re driving for the right idea or best solution, conflict has a cost.

I was in management meetings over many years where vitriol flew, and verbal steam blistered the paint on the walls.

But then we would literally walk out of the meeting laughing as if nothing had happened. We were supposedly thankful to have solved the problem we argued about.

Though problems got solved, we created deeper, relational rifts. After years of this, our relationships became surface-only. Office politics ran rampant.

Then the company hit a wall.

Soon after, some of our management team left, some were fired.

Before you allow conflict as a leader, believing it generates the best thinking, ponder the potential long-term cost.

Tom Harper
Founder, BiblicalLeadership.com
LinkedIn profile | My books