The next level in cultural progression,
as Tribal Leadership describes it, shifts
the thinking from “I’m great” to “we’re
great.” For the 22 per cent of North
American workplaces operating from
this level, there’s a much more significant
likelihood of active listening and
healthy conflict.
“This level calls for the company to
know what its purpose is, so they’re not
just here to make x amount of money or
sell this many widgets,” said Flatt.
Tech giant Google, for example, tells
its employees the company’s reason for
being is to provide information 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. That statement
offers a shared sense of purpose
that can give direction and meaning to
healthy disagreements, and help steer
resolutions.
“When people are operating from that
collective ‘we’ place, you actually have dialogue.
It’s not conflict for the sake of it, but
for the sake of improving,” said Flatt.
COMMON ROADBLOCKS
Despite all the upsides, creating a culture
of positive dissent is unlikely to be free of
any, well, conflict.
Asking some leaders to invite more dissent
among the team might seem to them
like handing over the steering wheel. And
collecting opposing ideas might seem, on
the surface, like a sure-fire way to slow
productivity.
What’s more, many of us are trained to
find, exclusively, the data that supports
our particular view. It’s how most essays
are written during academic years, how
you gain support and funding for new
projects in the working world. It’s effective
– but only up to a point.
To expand your own point of view
by incorporating others’ ideas requires
checking your ego and your agenda at the
door.
“It means accepting that you have just
one point of view, releasing the need to
be the expert and taking on a beginner
mindset,” said Flatt. “That takes courage
and it takes vulnerability.”
For leaders who fear occasional conflict
will erode team dynamics, the
opposite is much more likely to be true.
Heffernan points to research showing a
direct correlation between the strength
of interpersonal relationships and the
amount of healthy conflict within those
groups. They key word is healthy – those
disagreements have to be aired in an
environment where people feel heard, respected
and valued.
“If people don’t agree with your idea,
you’re much more likely to be accepting
of that if you feel you’ve at least been
heard,” said Flatt.
The idea of willingly engaging in disagreements
is also counterintuitive for
many people, who may fear conflict and
tend to avoid it. This may stem from an
upbringing in a particular household or
culture with strong feelings about challenging
authority, or it may relate to an
entire generation’s collective experience
with conflict.
“My sense gained over 25 years in the
HR field is that newer generations – Gen
X and Gen Y – both want and need positive
dissent,” said Papa. “Boomers have
traditionally been more tolerant of topdown
management approaches.”
An integral part
of your team.
THe LaBOuR and empLOymenT Law expeRTS
Emond Harnden is trusted, not simply as advisors, but as an integrated member of
our clients’ HR departments and senior management teams. we are devoted exclusively
to advising management on labour relations and employment matters.
It’s a forward-thinking approach to labour law.
Glebe Chambers 707, rue Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3V1 1.888.563.7660 www.ehlaw.ca
Services dans les deux langues officielles
feature
Continued on page 38
36 ❚ FEBRUARY 2016 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL