Why your team needs healthy conflict | Issue #230
Why healthy conflict is a good thing (and how to build it in your team)
Imagine this. You’re in an Executive Team meeting. The discussion turns into a controversial decision. You go around the room, and there’s unanimous agreement. No dissenting voices at all. Satisfied with this consensus, you leave the room and congratulate yourself on a productive meeting.
Except it isn’t productive. Because as soon as you leave, the muttering starts. Some of the team members have no intention of abiding by the decision.
If this is a familiar story, be warned. Patrick Lencioni calls it ‘fake harmony’, and it has no place in a high-performing team. It’s toxic and will hold your business back. If you suspect this is happening in your team, there are several things to work on. Most important is building your ‘healthy conflict’ muscle. Like any muscle, it must be regularly exercised and built up slowly. With time, it will strengthen and become more efficient. And your team will perform better as a result.
Creating Joy At Work with Chief Happiness Officer, Henry Stewart
This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from a long-time friend, Henry Stewart, founder and Chief Happiness Officer of Happy, a company that helps organisations create happy workplaces. Henry and Dominic met many years ago when their organisations were competing for the Unisys Service Excellence Awards. Happy is the second happiest company in the UK or Best Place to Work, as measured by the Great Places to Work organisation, and number 15 in Europe.
Henry has an innovative approach to running a business and was part of the British pilot for four-day work weeks. Then, he decided to continue on that path, which resulted in 40% year-over-year revenue growth and increased productivity. He also implemented a salary transparency system, made the staff set his salary, and decided not to make any decisions, after which his employees took ownership of raising prices during the pandemic, which ultimately saved the company. Henry is now exploring Employee Ownership Trust and is happily living out his 4-day work week.
Download and listen to this fantastic conversation today.
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Lewis Howes is a New York Times best-selling author, 2x All-American athlete, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. The School of Greatness shares inspiring interviews from the most successful people on the planet—world-renowned leaders in business, entertainment, sports, science, health, and literature—to inspire YOU to unlock your inner greatness and live your best life.
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Quote of the week
“Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.”
Patrick Lencioni
Dominic Monkhouse
Dominic offers business coaching and management development, strategy planning and organisational change, using tried and tested methods to launch your organisation onto an unparalleled growth trajectory. His programme is a function of his broad experience, his deep expertise and a proven process used by over 2,700 firms worldwide.