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Constructive vs. Destructive Conflict in Project Management

November 5, 2008 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Conflict Management, People Issues

Constructive vs. Destructive Conflict in Project Management
By Global Knowledge

A project team with no conflict is a good thing, right? Be careful what you ask for, because not all project conflict is bad. As long as the established boundaries and limits are adhered to, conflict can be productive for growth and development.

Some good things can come out of conflict:

  • People learn to work together.
  • The team experiences increased amounts of energy, because conflict does not allow the team to stay stagnant; it causes them to move forward.
  • It can foster creativity by forcing team members to see things from new points of view that they would never have thought of otherwise.
  • Positive conflict can build cohesiveness among group members.
  • Individuals and groups learn to grow and apply their knowledge to future conflict.

Quite often conflict can be constructive, especially when it has the effect of increasing the involvement of everyone and opens up discussions of issues resulting in increased clarification, as in the examples above; when it helps to identify alternatives; results in a solution; or serves as a release for pent-up emotions, anxieties, and stress. Beneficial conflict is more along the lines of a good healthy technical discussion.

On the other hand, not every type of conflict is useful. When does conflict become unhealthy? When does it become destructive? The easy answer is when it becomes counterproductive or when it keeps returning.

Whenever it becomes a barrier and an obstacle to reaching the goals and objectives of your project, and/or has become a stumbling block to continue to work with healthy team relations, the conflict is no longer beneficial.

When it does not lead to a decision or causes new negative behavior and the problem remains, the problem is not beneficial. Conflict is also destructive when it diverts energy from more important activities and issues, destroys the morale of individuals and groups, reinforces poor self-concept, divides people and polarizes groups, produces irresponsible behavior, and especially when it becomes personal.

This article was originally published in Global Knowledge’s Business Brief e-newsletter. Global Knowledge delivers comprehensive hands-on project management, business process, and professional skills training. Visit our online Knowledge Center at www.globalknowledge.com/business for free white papers, webinars, and more.

© Copyright 2008, Global Knowledge. All rights reserved.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 and is filed under Conflict Management, People Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 person has left a comment

I am currently in the process of developing a new project management strategy for our team, and a lot of what you said resonates. We have a lot of what I think you would identify as “bad” conflict. It often repeats, it often causes the project to fragment, and most of the time causes many of the teams members to take it personal. I’m going to share this article with the team. I think it will help illustrate our need for change. Thanks for your thoughts. -O

Oran E. Parker wrote on November 6, 2008 - 7:32 am | Visit Link

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