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.

Building Collaboration Within Teams

For a team to work effectively, every member must accomplish the duties assigned to them and fulfill their obligations relating to both their individual role and the team's rules. The fundamental idea behind teamwork is to bring together a group of individuals to combine their efforts so as to more effectively and swiftly accomplish a shared goal (Pope, 2008). Every member is a collaborator, meaning that individual input substantially influences the final outcome of the group. Without collaboration, the existence of a team would be meaningless. Accordingly, the team leader, together with the team, must ensure a spirit of collaboration is created and maintained.

One way collaboration within a team can be forged is by encouraging members to learn from one another (Gratton & Erickson, 2007). A team often brings together individuals with diverse skills, abilities, backgrounds, and perspectives. Such diversity is the essence of a team. Belbin's team inventory model asserts that an effective team is one in which members play diverse roles — a team should have team workers, specialists, implementers, shapers, coordinators, resource investigators, and so forth (Margerison, 2003). Different capabilities thus complement one another: specialists learn from team workers, shapers learn from implementers, and so on. Each individual's skills and abilities are drawn upon for the benefit of the team. When there is a spirit of mutual learning, team members see one another not as rivals but as collaborators and partners.

Learning from one another means team members share resources and knowledge and help one another accomplish their individual roles and responsibilities (Gratton & Erickson, 2007). Though a team involves collaborative effort, individuals often have their own part to play. Each individual is like an element working alongside other elements to achieve the group's objective. Collaboration tends to succeed when individuals help one another while still fulfilling their own duties. For example, when a team member is struggling with a task, other team members should be the first to offer assistance by lending their knowledge, skills, expertise, or resources.

Another way to improve collaboration is by ensuring openness and inclusivity. This involves encouraging diverse ideas, giving every member a chance to contribute, valuing every member, allowing room for the expression of concerns, building friendships, and ensuring honest and transparent communication (Parker, 2009). Team collaboration can be further enhanced by rewarding and acknowledging collaborative behavior, encouraging socialization outside work, and incorporating team-building activities that require cooperation. These efforts cultivate an atmosphere of collaboration, ultimately minimizing or avoiding negative conflict and enhancing team functioning and effectiveness.

On the whole, the importance of teamwork in today's increasingly complex workplace cannot be overstated. For the most to be made of team effort, an environment of collaboration and positive conflict must be sustained. Team members must work together, always helping and learning from one another. There should be a shared understanding that every member plays a unique role that contributes to the overall goal. Diversity should be seen as an opportunity for creativity rather than a source of tension. The leadership must play an integral role in achieving this outcome. As the head of the team, the leader must set a good example by fostering a spirit of collaboration, positivity, and win-win conflict resolution. When the leader sets a good example, followers are likely to emulate that behavior.

Multinational Corporations and Cultural Challenges

The business environment is inherently complex, and that complexity is even greater when business operations cross national frontiers. Multinational corporations (MNCs) grapple with greater competitive dynamics as well as political, legal, social, cultural, and technological uncertainties. Managing change in such an environment can be quite difficult. This difficulty particularly emanates from cultural differences (Luthans & Doh, 2012). This section discusses three major challenges facing MNCs today and justifies the relevance of change management theory in addressing them. It also examines the importance of effective communication in managing these challenges and organizational change in general.

One challenge MNCs face relates to cultural differences. Culture theory demonstrates that considerable cultural differences exist between countries. Hofstede's cultural dimensions model, for instance, asserts that countries differ in how they view authority, interdependence, success, uncertainty, and time (Luthans & Doh, 2012). While some countries value individualism, others place emphasis on collectivism; while some insist on power and authority, others believe in equality. Even though globalization and immigration have increased over the years, Hofstede's cultural model retains immense relevance today. MNCs tend to experience considerable cultural difficulties in foreign countries. For example, an American MNC entering China will encounter difficulties arising from significant cultural differences: while the U.S. is an individualistic and low-power-distance society, China is a collectivist and high-power-distance society.

Due to cultural differences, MNCs often have to adjust their strategies, structures, activities, and processes in accordance with the local culture. HRM processes are among the most affected. Making HRM decisions in the multinational context requires careful consideration of local culture, as culture often influences how individuals are motivated, engaged, and empowered (Lucas, Lupton & Mathieson, 2006). In a masculine society such as the U.S., individuals tend to be driven by achievement, success, and competition, and employee compensation tends to reflect those values. In a feminine society, by contrast, emphasis falls on consensus, solidarity, and compromise, and HRM processes mirror those values accordingly. In addition to compensation, MNCs must make decisions relating to recruitment — often having to choose between ethnocentric staffing (bringing in staff from the domestic country), polycentric staffing (recruiting from the host country), or a combination of both (Brewster, Sparrow & Vernon, 2011). Each approach presents its own merits and drawbacks, underscoring the need for careful selection.

Cultural differences manifest not only in people decisions but also in communication tendencies. Communication is an important challenge that can hinder MNC success in the global environment. Culture dictates how people behave and communicate, as demonstrated in Hall's cultural model. The model argues that communication behavior falls into two categories: low-context communication and high-context communication (Luthans & Doh, 2012). Low-context communication is explicit, direct, precise, and straight to the point. In a low-context culture, "Yes" typically means agreement with an idea, and it is common for people to express anger openly and directly. In a high-context society, communication tends to be implicit, indirect, and contextual. Saying "Yes" may not necessarily indicate agreement — it may simply serve to maintain harmony. These communication differences carry important implications for MNCs, as they can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, and negotiation difficulties.

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