Take a second to think about what would happen without back and forth on business or marketing strategies. The team would seem to receive orders like robots, and your company would be heavily bureaucratic. As the CEO, CFO, or project manager, you’d decide what to do without input from your co-workers, which could make them underperform in their roles.
You may not love this, which is why this article will show you how to change it. You’d learn how healthy conflict boosts business growth and why you should use it to create a more competitive and productive work environment.
Table of Contents
What Is Healthy Conflict?
Healthy conflict is a level of disagreement that doesn’t infringe on people’s opinions but builds respect and trust without discrimination. Workplace conflict occurs when there’s a disagreement between employees due to conflicting beliefs, ideas, and interests, and it can get out of hand if not properly managed.Â
The simplest way to resolve workplace conflict is to perceive it as an opportunity for business growth. Healthy conflict can boost business growth when you approach it positively.
Conflicting ideas means that your workers have more to offer. The least you can do is to encourage them to voice their opinion, engage their thoughts, and make them understand that their ideas can be valid. Now, how can you achieve this in your workplace?
Positive disagreement can come in different styles and shapes, depending on your work environment and how you implement it into your office space.Â
Read also: Tips to Managing Conflict in a Relationship as a Nigerian
Examples of Healthy Conflicts
Positive disagreement can come in different styles and shapes, depending on your work environment and how you implement it into your office space. These are some of the ways to practice and promote healthy conflict in your company:
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Friendly Match-Ups
You can observe how healthy conflict boosts business growth through friendly competition. Competition promotes workplace productivity and can even improve performance. Most employees tend to work harder when they feel competitive, and you can use it to your advantage.Â
To achieve this, set a goal, and put an incentive on it for the team/individual that reaches that goal first. This does not mean such competitions should create an aggressive environment where workers antagonize each other.
To avoid a dog-eat-dog environment, you must let your employees know their plans and strategies will be experimented with. This could be your A/B testing— A series of strategies you’d observe to know which works better for your company or the market. This way, employees would be encouraged to try to outwit their “competitor” without resorting to unhealthy rivalry. It’ll also show other departments how healthy conflict boosts business growth.
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Healthy debates
Positive office debates are great ways to encourage innovative thinking, source fresh ideas, and build a respectful office relationship. You should encourage topic discussions where people can express their perspectives and create solutions to counter business stagnation.
Office debates can be in the form of a weekend workshop where employees can participate in several activities, give their opinions on the company’s mode of operation, and contribute ideas to improve it. You can also create a debate platform during work meetings where you ask everyone to give you ideas and encourage their co-workers to counter that idea with a better one.Â
However, with debates, you have to ensure it doesn’t turn into a brawl. So, now that you know the examples of how healthy conflict boosts business growth, how do they help your business?
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What Are the Benefits of Healthy Conflict in Workplaces?
Opposing ideas in your business creates avenues for learning, innovation, problem-solving, and skill expansion for your employees, leading to more productivity. Here are other reasons to implement positive conflict and how to do it:
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Healthy conflict promotes creativity
Teamwork of the staff, creative and friendly atmosphere
The absence of creativity leads to business stagnation.
Encouraging your employees to express their ideas can spark inspiration in their co-workers’ minds, and this can kickstart innovative ideas which will contribute to productivity and performance. For instance, a team member’s opinion on the company’s marketing strategy could help others formulate a more solid plan. Also, If you have two teammates at each other’s neck trying to prove opposing views, encourage them to present their views. Remember, the goal here is to show them that healthy conflict boosts business growth and does not create a negative competitive environment.
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Positive workplace conflict promotes communication among workers
Shot of two businessmen having a discussion in an office
A healthy argument is a form of honest communication.
It helps people express themselves while prioritizing self-control, team unity, and collaboration. You can encourage this kind of argument between your employees to promote a deep sense of communication.Â
Don’t get me wrong; you shouldn’t allow verbal insults or physical altercations. However, constructive reasoning helps them know how their co-workers feel and how business matters should be handled. This will, in the end, contribute to how they develop interpersonal relationships, develop formidable work culture, and become better collaborators.
Read also: How to Develop or Improve Company or Workplace Culture
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Healthy conflict encourages new ideas
Hipster business successful teamwork concept, business group assembling jigsaw puzzle
Young employees are often overlooked and ignored in many business settings. However, you can create an environment where young workers can walk up to their superiors to offer an opinion or propose a better business plan. Giving employees room to talk, disagree, and express themselves is another way healthy conflict boosts business growth.
This doesn’t apply to your workers alone; you should also play a part. For instance, if your team member has a better plan to combat sales decline than what you have proposed, don’t shut them out as the business owner. Instead, look over it, and see if it can bring more profits than the initial plan. If it does, implement it and acknowledge whoever made the plan. This promotes trust and respect between you and your employees and sets examples for other workers on how healthy conflict boosts business growth.
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Healthy conflict improves performance
Disagreement can solve business issues. Organizational conflict usually happens when employees or managers have different opinions on executing projects or ideas. To see how healthy conflict boosts business growth, you can create a debate on a particular issue, give all team members free rein to talk, and sit back and watch them create a solution through diverse thoughts. The goal of a conflict is to improve performance, and you’ll achieve this in the long run.
Final Words
How is conflict an opportunity for growth? Healthy conflict can improve employee performance, business turnover, and work relationships. However, it turns awry when it’s not properly managed. This is why you should let your employees know that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and no one should be victimized for expressing themselves. This will boost a healthy workplace relationship while promoting productivity and innovative thinking for company growth.
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About Author
- Adetola Rachael is a content and copywriter. With experience in tech, entrepreneur, and casino niches, she relies on deep research to create quality, original, and marketable content.
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