Master strategies for managing senior-level conflicts to ensure organizational cohesion.
WHEN SENIOR EXECUTIVES CLASH
INTERVIEW BY DALE COREY
Even in the best-run organizations, conflicts arise—and not only at the lowest rungs of the management ladder. Disagreements between senior executives can escalate, draw many into the fray, and diminish performance. Top managers need to know not only how to intervene but also when.
Howard Guttman, founder and principal of Guttman Development Strategies, Inc., a Ledgewood, N.J.–based management consulting firm, specializes in organizational development, executive coaching, and implementing high-performance teams. Since 1989, his firm has worked with senior leaders at major international corporations.
THE STATE OF AFFAIRS
Q: When so much attention has been paid recently to leadership training, team building, and empowerment, why does conflict management continue to be such a significant issue?
Guttman: Let’s face it, conflict has been around since Adam and Eve. But the modern business enterprise—with its crumbling hierarchies, global reach, asynchronous work patterns, and dog-eat-dog competitive pressures—has become a holding pen for conflict.
Just think about how organizational structures have changed. The old business model, inherited from German sociologist Max Weber, was highly functionalized and built on command and control. Each tier of an organization reported to its immediate superior, and orders filtered back from the top in the same way. It was easy to understand your role in the chain, and power followed form and structure. Conflict rarely had a chance to surface.
If a company were to function like this today, it would have the same chance of survival as a dinosaur in a tar pit. The modern, horizontal business organization has a skeleton crew of executives at the top in traditional roles. Virtually everyone else works together across multidisciplinary, global teams, with only three or four layers of management. This structure makes organizations more nimble and adaptable to market changes, but it often leaves executives trying to exert influence—rather than exercise power—over people they don’t even know, much less supervise. It’s a quantum shift from the old world and a tinderbox for conflict.
THE TRIANGULATION TRAP
Q: Can conflict ever be managed so it doesn’t ignite an organization?Guttman: Conflict is inevitable whenever people are brought together, each with individual needs. Suppressing conflict is unrealistic and counterproductive. Managed properly, conflict can be a positive force. Think of Charles Atlas’s “dynamic tension”—putting muscle against muscle to build strength. Similarly, executives who manage conflict well bring competing energies together to achieve positive outcomes.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTOCOLS
Q: What role do protocols play in managing conflict?
Guttman: Protocols are rules of engagement that structure discussions and decision-making. Without them, tackling tough issues can devolve into mayhem. For example, one protocol is “no triangulation.” This prevents individuals from dragging third parties into disagreements, encouraging direct resolution instead. Another critical protocol is “don’t accuse in absentia,” which means not discussing issues about someone unless they are present.
THE EVOLUTION OF TEAMS
Q: Do teams evolve through stages before reaching high performance?
Guttman: Yes, teams typically progress through four stages:
Testing: Conflict is hidden, and side deals are common.
Infighting: Conflict surfaces as finger-pointing and lack of closure on issues.
Getting Organized: Teams set common goals, define roles, and establish protocols.
High Performance: Teams embrace conflict management, focus on business success, and foster accountability.
CYBERCONFLICTS
Q: How does electronic communication, like email, affect conflict management?Guttman: Email is a double-edged sword. It’s fast and efficient, but also prone to misinterpretation and emotional responses. Without the context of body language or tone, emails can escalate conflict. Executives should carefully consider the content and underlying tone of their emails. When in doubt, picking up the phone or meeting face-to-face is often more effective.
LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES
Q: What advice do you have for top leaders in managing conflict?
Guttman: Leaders must set the tone by modeling effective conflict management. Here are some key practices:
Be candid: Put issues on the table for discussion.
Be receptive: Encourage disagreement as a virtue.
Depersonalize: Keep ego in check.
Clarify decision-making rules.
Ban triangulation.
Listen to understand.
Hold team members accountable.
Howard Guttman is working on his book When Goliaths Clash, published by AMACOM. He can be reached at hmguttman@guttmandev.com.
Published in MWorld, Spring 2002 | American Management Association