November 10, 2022 | By David M. Wagner

Can conflict be inclusive?

That’s what I found myself wondering after the SSIR Nonprofit Management Institute. Dr. Pri Shah from the University of Minnesota shared research about ensuring conflict result in better problem solving. Then Dr. Leah Weiss, a mental health expert at Stanford, spoke about the importance of belongingness in teams.

Belongingness. Conflict. Can you have both?

Actually, teams need both. Conflict is always present in an organization. But without a culture of belongingness, conflict might be suppressed (team members don’t feel like it’s acceptable to challenge the status quo) or turn toxic (personal clashes overtake productive debates).

In both types of environments, individual fear and anxiety sap team energy and effectiveness. Dr. Weiss referenced a telling data point: after experiencing a single incident of exclusion, individual performance on a team can drop 25% (BetterUp, 2019).

Belongingness, or psychological safety, is the key to fostering healthy conflict. Team members feel supported and empowered to speak their minds. Teams debate ideas and solutions while supporting one another as individuals. Put another way:

Inclusive conflict means feeling like you’re in it together, while sometimes disagreeing.

Here are some ways leaders can help their teams reap the benefits of both conflict and belonging.

1. Assess the current level and types of conflict. Per Dr. Shah, teams that engage in task conflicts (disagreements about how to solve a problem) will identify better solutions, especially in planning phases. But relationship conflicts (clashes about status, ego, balance of responsibilities, or values) harm team performance. Does your team embrace or eschew debate? Are conflicts between ideas, or individuals?

2. Monitor and strengthen team health. Do your team members feel like part of a supported community (one of four “pillars of team health,” per Dr. Weiss)? Set an example by asking for and offering help, acknowledging others’ contributions, and consulting others in key decisions. Consider team-building to cultivate trust. Look for relationship conflicts that you can help resolve – outside the group setting.

3. Establish team norms for inclusive conflict. Use ground rules for team interactions to enforce values like respect and fairness. Brainstorming sessions can incite healthy task conflicts, according to Dr. Shah. Dr. Weiss recommends calling attention to emotional cues to foster belongingness. Use this technique to encourage participation (“I notice you’ve been quiet during this discussion”), identify and reduce tension (“I think I hear stress in your voice”), and invite discussion (“Does anyone else feel a bit unsure about this plan right now?”).

4. Reinforce constructive behaviors. Recognize individuals for (respectfully!) speaking up with concerns and alternative ideas – Dr. Shah’s research shows that a devil’s advocate or pair of debaters produce the healthiest team conflicts. Highlight team successes that benefited from earlier conflicts. And coach team members on inclusive approaches when they exhibit idea-blocking and other exclusionary behaviors.

When team members don’t feel safe engaging in conflict, both they and the organization suffer. What do your team’s conflicts look like? How might you foster more collaborative problem solving?