How to overcome a fear of conflict and help teams move away from consensus

1. How to Disagree
well:
Overcoming a fear of conflict and
helping teams move away from
consensus
Richard McLean
@mcleanonline

2. Hi, I’m Richard
@mcleanonline

3. Quick poll
How comfortable do you feel when it
comes to handling conflict within your
team?

4. What we’re going to cover in this session
1.Explore consensus decision-making
2.Tools and techniques for creating
healthy conflict and helping people to
disagree well
3.Discussion/Q&A

5. What we’re going to cover in this session
1.Explore consensus decision-making
2.Tools and techniques for creating
healthy conflict and helping people to
disagree well
3.Discussion/Q&A

14. “Compromise makes bad products.
Conversations that expose fundamental
tensions often uncover gaps or
contradictions in strategy. Consequently,
they improve not only a single decision but
the entire constellation of decisions that
follow.” Boz
https://boz.com/articles/strong-opinions

15. “Teams that trust each other are not
afraid to engage in passionate
dialogue around issues and decisions
that are key to the organization’s
success. They do not hesitate to
disagree with, challenge, and question
one another, all in the spirit of finding
the best answers, and

17. Yes, but…
It matters how you
dissent, how you
disagree

18. How do you create an environment
where people freely express their views,
where speaking up & straight talking
is encouraged, where it’s ok to disagree,
because you can disagree well, and
where conflicting views are welcomed?

20. What we’re going to cover in this session
1.Explore consensus decision-making
2.Tools and techniques for creating
healthy conflict and helping people to
disagree well
3.Discussion/Q&A

22. https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2016/05/2
5/its-ok-to-say-whats-ok/

26. Who has a different view?

27. “We’ve heard a number of great ideas.
But what are we missing?”
“What are we missing?”

31. What we’re going to cover in this session
1.Explore consensus decision-making
2.Tools and techniques for creating
healthy conflict and helping people to
disagree well
3.Discussion/Q&A

32. Takeaways
1. Conversation – Make clear that it’s ok to disagree and encourage it
when it happens
2. Contribution – Invite everyone to contribute and actively seek
different opinions
3. Reflection – Set some team principles and then, later, reflect on
whether they are helping you and adjust accordingly
4. Empathy – Try wearing different hats: put yourself in someone else’s
shoes and consider the issue/question/situation from different
viewpoints
5. Environment – You’re only likely to have healthy conflict in a
environment where there is trust and Psychological Safety