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A free, renewable source of energy
Organizations typically view conflict as a problem to be eliminated or, at best, a necessary evil to be managed. This perspective drives conflict underground, where it festers and creates dysfunction. Leaders pride themselves on “harmonious” teams where disagreements are rare, equating the absence of visible tension with health. But this approach misses the entire point of conflict at work: Healthy disagreement and productive tension are essential for innovation, learning, and growth. Without robust debate and the clash of diverse perspectives, teams default to mediocre compromises, miss critical insights, and fail to identify potential problems. The energy inherent in difference—different ideas, different approaches, different mental models—goes untapped.
This avoidance creates a culture of “nice” that breeds resentment. Important issues go unaddressed because raising them feels too risky. Innovation suffers as people hesitate to challenge existing ideas or propose radical alternatives. Decision-making gets compromised when crucial perspectives remain unvoiced. We lose the creative energy that productive conflict can generate.
Even when organizations recognize the value of healthy conflict, they often lack the structures to support it. Without clear processes for engaging in disagreement, attempts at “healthy debate” can quickly devolve into personal attacks or unproductive arguments. The absence of shared protocols for handling tension makes every conflict feel personally threatening rather than professionally valuable.