Leadership, Team Conflict, and Succession Planning in Organizations

Team Conflict and the Role of Leadership

Teamwork has increasingly become a common aspect within the organizational setting. Organizations in varied sectors and industries are ever more reliant on teamwork in the achievement of their goals and objectives. Nonetheless, teamwork presents a breeding ground for conflict, in large part due to differences in background, views, beliefs, personalities, objectives, and priorities (Toegel & Barsoux, 2016). If not properly handled, conflict within a team can considerably hamper team morale, motivation, collaboration, and productivity. This section highlights a team conflict scenario, discusses approaches for dealing with team conflict, and clearly points out the role of leadership in managing it.

One instance of team conflict experienced during professional life relates to disrespect for team norms on the part of some team members. Every team often has rules that determine how members behave and interact with one another during the course of teamwork (Pope, 2008). These rules relate to aspects such as attendance at meetings, articulation of views during discussions, and responsibility for individual roles and tasks. At one point, a certain member consistently defied the rules set by the team. Contrary to team norms, he frequently arrived late for meetings, chatted during meetings, spoke rudely to other members, interrupted others while they were talking, missed team-building activities, and always had to be pushed to fulfill his part of the job. Even with warnings from the team leader, the member remained uncooperative. His behavior was a great detriment to the team, as deadlines were sometimes missed. Worse still, considerable enmity grew between the uncooperative member and the rest of the team. Important meetings and discussions devolved into arguments. Eventually, no one wanted him on the team anymore, compelling the team leader to escalate the matter to management for disciplinary action.

The conflict described in this scenario is an example of a destructive conflict. Also known as negative conflict, a destructive conflict is one that does not add value to the team — it destroys it (Toegel & Barsoux, 2016). It deteriorates interpersonal relationships, kills enthusiasm, diminishes individual commitment, and undermines collaboration and the flow of work. This can stifle creativity and hamper team productivity. In the scenario above, the negative conflict deteriorated interpersonal relationships and undermined collaboration across the whole team.

While conflict is often perceived as negative, it may sometimes be positive. Also referred to as constructive conflict, positive conflict is conflict that is beneficial to the team — it generates productive ideas (Parker, 2009). It is characterized by flexibility, open-mindedness, acknowledgement of diversity, positive disagreement, and the belief that every member of the team can benefit. An ideal example of constructive conflict is when team members hold different but equally creative ideas about how to approach a certain task. Rather than viewing one approach as superior to the others, the team evaluates the various ideas and settles on the most suitable, acceptable, and feasible one. Divergence in perspectives does not escalate into power struggles, blame games, or hostility. Instead, team members reinforce their relationships with one another for the benefit of the team, minimizing negative conflict and fostering collaboration.

Though every team member has a role to play in maintaining a climate of positive conflict, the greatest burden falls on the leader. In any setting, the leader serves as the guide of the group, providing direction and modeling acceptable behavior for followers (Pope, 2008). Accordingly, since differences are likely to occur often, part of the leader's work involves resolving conflicts. This work includes identifying conflict as soon as it occurs, demonstrating willingness to resolve it, selecting the most appropriate approach based on the nature of the conflict, and ensuring the conflict does not become destructive. It is common for leaders to evade tension when conflict arises, often in an attempt to exhibit harmony. While this can work sometimes, it may cause hostility between the parties to accumulate. Over time, that hostility can break bonds between team members and impede team productivity. Therefore, a leader must never allow a negative conflict to go unresolved.

The role of the leader in resolving team conflict also has important ethical connotations. The leader has a responsibility to create an atmosphere of equality where every member is treated fairly, irrespective of their background, views, personality, or closeness to the team leader (Parker, 2009). Prejudice and favoritism are not uncommon in team settings. An example would be a team leader favoring certain members in the assignment of tasks, enforcement of team rules, or evaluation of performance. In the scenario above, the team leader would have been acting unethically had they failed to warn the uncooperative member or delayed reporting his behavior to higher authority. Such unfairness would have heightened the conflict and deteriorated relationships not only between the uncooperative member and the team, but also between the team leader and the team as a whole. A team leader therefore carries an ethical responsibility to act in the best interest of the group.

References

Biech, E. (2007). Thriving through change: A leader's guide to change mastery. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.

Brewster, C., Sparrow, P., & Vernon, G. (2011). International human resource management (3rd ed.). UK: CIPD.

Costanza, D., Badger, J., Fraser, R., Severt, J., & Gade, P. (2012). Generational differences in work-related attitudes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business & Psychology, 27(4), 375–394.

Gratton, L., & Erickson, T. (2007, November). Eight ways to build collaborative teams. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2007/11/eight-ways-to-build-collaborative-teams

Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lucas, R., Lupton, B., & Mathieson, H. (2006). Human resource management in an international context. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

Luthans, F., & Doh, J. (2012). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Maia, L., & Bastos, A. (2015). Organizational commitment, psychological contract fulfillment and job performance: A longitudinal quanti-qualitative study. Brazilian Administration Review, 12(3), 250–267.

Margerison, C. (2003). Team leadership. London: Thomson Learning.

Parker, G. (2009). Team leadership: 20 proven tools for success. Amherst: HRD Press.

Pope, S. (2008). Team leader workbook. Amherst: HRD Press.

Rothwell, W. (2010). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within (4th ed.). New York: AMACOM.

Smissen, S., Schalk, R., & Freese, C. (2013). Contemporary psychological contracts: How both employer and employee are changing the employment relationship. Management Revue, 24(4), 309–327.

Toegel, G., & Barsoux, J. (2016, June). How to preempt team conflict. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/06/how-to-preempt-team-conflict

Truss, C., Mankin, D., & Kelliher, C. (2012). Strategic human resource management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.