09/23/2011

Strong Project Management = Conflict Avoidance?

Reading this blog post over on PM Hut today, entitled I Just Want Everyone to Be Happy! made me think about the importance of conflict, while everyone seems to think that hugs and rainbow are what it takes to make a team successful.

I’ve seen some managers who think that any type of conflict on their projects or within their teams is entirely taboo - something to be avoided at all costs and short-circuited when it does come up. They use " conflict resolution" processes in the workplace like smoothing or avoidance hoping that the problems will just go away. Conflict is essential for ideas to be shared and for a group to grow. You cannot get there by everyone being super-agreeable with one another and avoiding the hard conversations.  Conflict management does not just mean "stopping conflict", just as Change management shouldn't mean "stopping change" - it's about understanding how to make these unavoidable things happen in a productive manner for the benefit of the team.

Sep 23, 2011 4:40:08 PM | Project Management

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