One of the keys to my leadership success was my ability to surround myself with a solid team of key leaders. When our business really took off and multiplied 10-fold over a six year period it was because of the work of my executive team.
A key ingredient of our executive team was our ability to handle conflict. I remember one meeting in particular when I had invited the CEO of our parent company (my boss) to sit in on a strategic planning session. During that session, three of our executive team members got into a heated argument and it lasted for a good thirty minutes. The rest of us sat and observed. During a pause in their action, I suggested we take a break.
At the break, my boss was a bit uneasy and asked me if our meetings were always like this. I said, “not often, but trust me, they will work through this, they always do.”
When the meeting convened, the three settled down and worked out a solution that was better than what each of them had been lobbying for at the outset…functional conflict is a key to the success of any business.
Leading an organization effectively requires the ability to handle conflict.
The best leaders mine for conflict, they don’t avoid it.
Conflict is different than dysfunction and chaos.
Conflict occurs when opposing beliefs and understanding converge. If handled the right way, a better way emerges. If handled the wrong way, no way emerges and trust is lost.
Colossians 3:13, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
