How Great Executive Teams Embrace Conflict

Executive team members are not immune from conflicts with their fellow executives. How these executives choose to handle conflicts, however, is a factor that separates great executive teams from average ones.

As coaches, a good portion of the coaching process with executives centers around the conflicts they find themselves experiencing with other members of the team. Some of the most prevalent conflicts executives find themselves dealing with include:

One executive doesn’t agree with the strategy another executive is promoting or implementing
One executive doesn’t like the decision another makes or recommends
One executive has a stronger relationship with the CEO than another member of the team and therefore gets their way without having an executive team discussion
One executive has a communication style that could be described as abrasive when they deal with other members of the executive team; other team members, in turn, would rather not discuss tough issues with the abrasive executive
The CEO or another member of the executive team isn’t comfortable with conflict so they avoid communicating or meeting directly with other members of the team
One executive does their best work by doing “end-arounds,” leaving other important members of the team out of the process
One or more executives doesn’t feel the CEO holds another team member accountable for maximizing the team’s success
One or more executives feel strongly that another executive should practice “swimming in their own lane” and not get involved in other areas of the team
The CEO tells members of the team to work out conflicts on their own, never follows up, and assumes the conflict has been resolved and everything is now wonderful

We often have the opportunity to coach multiple executives on the team, and therefore hear the different perspectives of the conflict. Executive team conflicts usually have the following 4 things in common:

The conflict is presented to us as a problem or negative thing
The executive has tried their one or two conflict resolution skills, but been unsuccessful
The executive believes strongly that their position is the right one and the other executive just “doesn’t get it”
The conflict is usually not discussed by executives as a team, but is instead discussed offline and at the side bar

The problem with an executive team that can’t effectively resolve conflict is the high cost that results. Ineffective conflict resolution means it takes a lot longer to solve problems, a lot of energy and resources are wasted, and executives begin to lose hope that the conflict can be resolved.

Many executive teams dealing with unresolved conflicts aren’t teams at all. They might identify as a team, but they are really just a committee. When they meet, they report out information on what is happening in their respective areas of influence, just like they do at the United Nations or Congress. Each team member feels their primary function is to represent the needs of their individual departments and team members, not the executive team they belong to. In these committees, there is very little collaboration and resolution of conflicts. Instead, these conflicts end up escalating and impacting multiple areas of the organization.

A great analogy for an effective executive team is a basketball team. The players are continuously passing the ball around to each other in order to find the most effective shot and ultimately win the game. They are willing to give up ball (if you’re an executive, your budget or people) if another team member has a better shot and can help the team win. Patrick Lencioni tells a great story in his book, The Advantage, that illustrates the difference between individuals and a team. He talks about two men fishing in one boat. One of the fishermen looks at the other and says, “Your side of the boat is sinking, but my side is looking really good.” Many executives seem to think their only job is to ensure their functional area isn’t sinking, even if the team’s boat is. In our basketball analogy, you made your three-pointer, but we still lost the game.

Would you describe your executive team as a true team? If not, the following 11 tips will help you move from a problematic committee to an effective team.

Clear Mission and Positive Vision: Most team members want to be a part of a successful, high performing team. The leader and team members need to ensure they have articulated a clear, positive vision of what the team will accomplish. This vision isn’t limited to results, and needs to address how they will function as a team.

Accountability: Whether you’re the CEO of your organization or the leader of your department team, someone needs to take responsibility and say, “We’re going to stop being dysfunctional and take the necessary steps to build a high-performing team.” Each team member also needs to be held accountable for delivering the goods (on time and under budget) in a way that builds strong relationships and promotes teamwork.

Clear Goals: The executive team and each team member need clear goals. These goals need to be complete with measurements for success and time frames for the results to be achieved within. (In my new book, Why Leaders Fail, there is a section dedicated to effective goal setting and implementation.)

Clarify Roles and Responsibilities: The big question is, “Who’s responsible?” In so many ways, the correct response is, “Everyone on the team is responsible.” But, questions and conflicts concerning who is responsible for the end result inevitably arise. Almost always, for each team member to be successful, they need help and support from other team members. When people work well together as a team, very seldom is there a question of responsibility. But when team work is lacking, the CEO or team’s leader needs to get involved and figure out who owns the outcome and what support that team member needs to achieve the desired result.

Hire the right people: Ultimately, you need to hire people who are technically strong and smart, but also have strong team and people skills. Great leaders are quick to realize when they’ve selected the wrong person, admit their mistake, and let that person go. The minute you start justify someone’s inadequacies in any of the areas listed above, you are compromising the success of the team.

Deal with problems or conflicts quickly: How long does it take the leader or team members to identify and effectively solve problems? Most team members are good at identifying problems. They’re not always as great at dealing with them quickly. What separates a great team from an average team is how quickly they resolve problems and conflicts, especially between team members.

Maintain primary loyalty: Patrick Lencioni highlighted this concept well in his best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of the Team. When Executive teams agree to accomplish something, every member of the team commits to accomplishing that goal. Almost always, the team member is going to meet some resistance from their department’s employees. The minute the team member makes a decision to support their individual department concerns over the goals of the executive team and organization, they have lost their primary loyalty. When this happens, the organization and the executive team’s success are almost always compromised.

Honest Communication: This might sound like a no-brainer; of course team members need to communicate honestly. But, in reality, a lack of honest communication is what undermines most relationships and the success of most teams. Here’s a great rule of thumb. When it comes to communication, practice the concept of “no surprises.” If you communicate in a way that prevents team members from ever being negatively surprised, you’ll find it is easier to build team trust among team members.

Everyone grows: The world is changing rapidly. To maintain a successful team, every team member needs to have a list of personal development goals and ideas for how their team will change to adapt to the future state of things.

Win: Ultimately, what defines success for you individually and for your team are the wins that come along with the accomplishments of your goals.

Have Fun: Life is short. When you love what you do, and your team wins, you don’t just have a job. You have a vocation that you’re paid to do. Celebrate your successes…even the small ones. Life is over in just one heartbeat. Acknowledge your successes and celebrate your wins along the way.

Many factors ultimately decide whether an executive team is productive, efficient, and successful. The ability to effectively handle conflicts, and see these conflicts as opportunities to grow, learn, and develop into an ever better executive team, will go a long way towards ensuring your executive team continues to thrive and lead the organization forward.