4 ways to encourage the right kind of conflict on your team

1. Tell your team it's okay

Start off by telling your team that disagreements are not only normal, but are an expected and productive part of collaboration, teamwork, and innovation, Gallo writes. There's often a human tendency to avoid conflict, so it's important you are explicit in saying you expect people to disagree, and that disagreement isn't a problem, but rather an opportunity.

You can also set norms for how you expect people to interact, especially when they disagree. Gallo recommends saying things like "we communicate openly and say what we mean and mean what we say," making it clear that disagreements are opportunities for growth instead of personal attacks.

Another option is "we focus on the issues," meaning that everyone focuses on the problems that need to be solved and not the personalities involved. Gallo also recommends "we respect different perspectives," making it clear that even in disagreement, the team should respect everyone's point of view.

2. Call out positive tensions

To ensure that disagreements are depersonalized and that health conflicts are normalized, it can be helpful to acknowledge and even list tensions that come up, Gallo writes.

For example, often teams disagree over speed versus quality, where one person may be incredibly efficient and focused on hitting deadlines and feel strongly that moving quickly is critical. Meanwhile, there could be another team member who thinks that speed is overrated and that slowing down and ensuring you're producing quality work is more important.

3. Depersonalize the conflicts

Naming the positive tensions on your team is an advantage because you separate the person from the problem, Gallo writes.

Another way to do this is by asking people to argue against their own standpoint, which can help them see another person's perspective and help the rest of the team depersonalize an argument from a person.

Gallo also recommends some questions you can use in a discussion to keep a disagreement healthy like, "is there another angle that we're missing here?" or "what are the pros and cons of perspective A and perspective B?" or "if we were able to remove the constraints we're under, how would this discussion change?"

4. Remain calm

One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to display comfort whenever a conflict arises, Gallo writes.

Whether you like it or not, your perceived power and authority over others on your team means they will look to you for signs of whether something is okay or not. If you appear angry or upset when a disagreement arises, people will often notice and interpret that it's not okay to engage in debate.

However, if you remain calm and model comfort and patience, your team will be willing to engage in and surface disagreements and tensions. For example, Gallo writes that you could calmly say something like "This feels like a tension between speed and quality. Do others see it that way?" If the conversation then moves into unhealthy territory, you can redirect the conversation by saying something like "Let's shift this conversation back to a productive space. What do we need to decide here to help us move toward our goals?"

Tensions on a team "are inevitable and encouraging positive ones can create an environment where people feel safe to voice their opinions and ideas, leading to better decisions and results," Gallo writes. "As a manager, you not only want to tolerate these sorts of disagreements but encourage them."