What do you do if your team is experiencing conflicts that need addressing?

Acknowledging the Elephant in the room is the most important element to begin with. The acknowledgement must be a collective effort of the team. Understanding how these conflicts are hindering the performance of the team and creating stress into the system paves the way to consider alternatives.

Giving space to everyone in the team to express their views on the current situation WITHOUT further clarification helps in taking the first step towards creating change. Finding out the conflict patterns would help in creating a systematic plan.

Asking the whole team how they can support an individual's problem statements does wonders most of the time as people would see the situation from a 3rd person angle. This would build the Connections within the team in a subtle way.

Conflicts within teams can arise due to various factors such as differing priorities, communication breakdowns, or competing objectives. As leaders, it's our responsibility to address these conflicts promptly to ensure team cohesion and productivity. One strategy I've found effective is empowering next-level leaders to collaborate in finding solutions by leveraging the diverse perspectives & expertise across teams, identify root causes of conflicts & work towards resolution. Fostering cross-team collaboration becomes key to success. Encouragement to establish open lines of communication with counterparts from other teams, fosters a culture of transparency & cooperation so we can find common ground & align our efforts towards shared goals.

Changes are always dealt with resistance. Identify the potential resisting elements in the system and put your focus on them. Spend time in understanding how the Trust can be organically grown. Identify multipliers and let things evolve.

When you team is having conflict, it's also important to start with self and reflect on if your leadership or communication style is adding to a culture where people are afraid to speak up, have tools to work through conflict or lack trust that there is a path to solution based on cultural norms. I've worked with so many leaders that have come to me to help "fix" their teams without once considering the impact of leadership on the team environment.

Integrate the team with the Purpose of their team's existence and make them realise how ongoing conflict could potentially derail the whole thing. Connect with a few Influencers within the team and seek their collaboration to build the systemic change.