The veterinary profession seems to be prolific when it comes to conflict, as well as avoidance. We’ve allowed our workplaces to become land mine fields of destructive communication, where we all try to tip-toe around anything we think has the potential for creating conflict for fear of it ruining our day, and creating added stress or drama.
What we’re failing to see as we “duck, cover and run” through these mine fields, is that healthy conflict is essential to the growth and sustainability of our businesses. The key being that the conflict is in fact healthy!
What Constitutes Healthy Conflict in the Workplace?
Surrounding ourselves with people “just like us” can create a peaceful, go-with-the-flow kind of workplace, but what does it do for the business? Most likely, it starts to become a “status quo” kind of place where nothing much changes, which can be very dangerous in an ever-changing world. We need to look for ways to build our teams by balancing our shared core values with diversity. Diversity brings questions to the table. Questions lead to looking at things differently and setting the stage for change. Change leads to a healthier business as we find new ways to innovate and problem-solve our way to fulfilling our Mission Goals, which to quote Bash “is the ultimate destination of where we want to be.”
I recently watched a TED talk, Dare to Disagree by Margaret Heffernan. In this presentation, Heffernan discusses the importance of having a partner in the workplace who doesn’t just echo your thoughts—you need someone who will challenge your ideas, picking them apart. She calls this process good thinking. This dynamic is essential for true innovation and positive growth.
In order to disagree in a healthy manner, your culture needs to encourage and support this type of conflict. Here are 3 ways you can make this a safe and healthy process in your workplace:
Encourage the Devil’s Advocate
When new ideas are presented, encourage critical thinkers on the team to play the devil’s advocate, questioning the “what if’s” of the idea. If you can take an idea and look at all the possible holes, from every side and still give it your stamp of approval, then you know your idea has merit and is worth developing.
Focus on Your Mission Goals
Many times, we focus on only one area of our Mission when we come up with an idea for change. If we offer a solution to patient care, as an example, we also need to look at the proposed solution from the perspective of what it also does for our clients, our employees, our culture and our medicine. Failing to do this, could lead us astray of fulfilling our overall Mission.
Give Yourself Space and Time
After a round of healthy conflict, give yourself and the team space and time to cool off after a decision has been reached. Giving ourselves time to reflect on the discussion, away from the team often eases any tension that might have arisen. It also allows us to reflect on the greater good of the agreed upon solution, making it easier to come back together as a unified team towards driving the change that is needed.
In a few weeks, Bash and I will be presenting “The Healthy Workplace: A Team Approach to Better Culture, Medicine, and Business” at the VHMA Annual Conference in Charlotte. I hope you’ll be joining us to further discuss this topic, as it relates to your practice’s health.