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| Conflicts are good! |
The
world today is not as much worried about the next world war, that could
potentially shove humanity towards extinction. It is far more distressed with
the fall-outs of the hundreds of geographically dispersed, localised, smaller
geo-political and military conflicts and skirmishes. These scuffles are far
more complex, heterogeneous, multi-polar and unique where a ‘one-fits-all’
solution doesn’t work. No wonder minds go numb whenever we are informed about
the next big conflict that’s brewing in our neighbourhood !
Now
then, we are not here today to discuss about global conflict mitigation
strategies. Let’s leave that bit for the elected governments, their well-oiled
battalions and their astute national security advisors.
What
about the conflicts in our daily lives? What about the conflicts that exist
within the contour of our homes, our societies, our offices? How bad are they?
Do they rob us of our efficiencies? Do the simmering struggles lead to
burn-outs? Does the organisation’s productivity remain compromised? Is it a
reality that they are inevitable and unavoidable? Is it like that throbbing
pile in one’s rectal canal that never really goes away completely – there are
just good and bad days? So much so that you eventually accept its presence and
learn to live with it?
Although,
the word ‘conflict’ itself is considered blasphemous, I always felt there’s
more to it than what meets our eyes. When we think of the word ‘conflict’, we usually
tend to picture shouting contests, uncontrolled rage, frosty stares or nerve-wracking
and stressful hostilities at workplace. Have we not made conflict synonymous
with disharmony, discord and hostility? Well, not necessarily. Outcome of
conflicts are generally expected to be binary, resulting in a classic
winner-looser scenario. But there actually are many more dimensions to this
that we often conveniently ignore or simply fail to recognise. Conflicts can be
both positive and productive.
No
denying the fact that conflicts are never easy, but it can also provide
well-deserved ammo to growth and change, which is good. Pain is rarely
desirable, yet it is pain that can wake us up, can prepare us for eventualities
and stimulate us to react to challenging circumstances. Conflict is almost like
tea leaves – you never know how strong they are until they are subjected to
boiling water !
I
remember one of my much celebrated corporate bosses once insisted that some
degree of organisational conflict is actually desirable and may not be
completely dysfunctional. It sometimes could be indicative of commitment to
organisational goals, as individuals get competitive in trying to come up with
the best possible solution. That in turn can encourage challenge, heighten the
individual stakeholders’ concern and responsiveness towards the issues, and
lead to increase in productive effort. This sort of conflict is essential, in
absence of which an organisation tends to lose its zing and eventually
stagnates !
In
case of an organisational conflict, results vary, largely depending upon how
the individuals involved in it choose to approach it. If approached positively,
conflicts can be stimulating and can improve quality of decisions. Conflicts
and disagreements many a times lead to lateral thinking and contrarian
solutions. They may test positions and personal beliefs but they almost always
help foster fresh ideas, approaches and alternatives. Lending firmer push
towards goals, conflicts can help sprout creativity and imaginativeness of
groups and individuals in an organisation. The raw energy of conflicts, if
channeled aptly, has the latent potential of amazing organisational
metamorphosis.
While
dealing with a conflict, competent and healthy individuals tend to seek more
information to achieve resolution and not browbeat each other. Strong
disagreements can trigger deeper deliberations and examinations. Pragmatic
decisions are often made in presence of empirical data, that may not have been
available in absence of a conflict. Though some of the emotions associated with
conflicts may be negative in nature, yet it also speaks volumes about
involvement and participation. A powerful and engaging argument within an
organisation is more often than not better than bland apathy. Individuals may
either argue to make up later or agree to disagree with each other ! The idea is
to be able to disagree without being ‘disagreeable’.
Conflicts
are not only about someone winning at the cost of another. It should rather be
about how the organisation or a group or even a cause could benefit. Avoidance
can rarely be good and at best serve a temporary purpose. Conscious effort to
stay guarded in order to avoid conflict can restrain groups from active
participation and may result in frustration. On the other hand, conflicts with
the intent of undermining the interest of the other, or even aimed at a
personal win at all cost is a template for disaster. A purely win-loss model of
conflict raises complacency in ‘winners’ with little incentive to improve.
While ‘losers’ tend become captives of their resentment. In such cases, instead
of resolution, conflicts tend to gather mass and become stronger, often leading
to anxiety and re-surfacing of unresolved conflicts. Conflicts however should
be managed, before they degenerate into low grade verbal assaults, that can
cause irreparable damage to individual egos and sensitivities.
Conflict
almost always gets a bad rap on the knuckles. We inevitably assume that
conflict leads to collapse of a relationship. Many of us avoid conflict like
plague, thinking that if we close our eyes to a potential encounter, it
wouldn’t exist. But if managed effectively, organisational conflicts can serve
as catalyst, rather than as a deterrent, towards organisational growth. The key
is to develop a high level of individual and collective trust within the
organisation and not take conflicts and assessments made during such exchanges
personally. Then it becomes fairly easy to deal with inflated egos and
personality clashes and work collectively towards resolution. It is always good
to talk more and not less!
