Lead team players out of ‘conflict in our relationships’.    

Conflict is created by poor communication, negative attitudes, misunderstandings, and lack of trust.

How we think and see the world make up our ‘perception model’.  It gives us a structure and a framework to interpret data and information.  It contains filters and factors to help us see the world.  Our filters come from our personality, age, gender, cultural & ethnic background and life/work experiences.

When we (our team) 'do not clarify our expected results’, ‘avoid accountablility’, ‘lack commitment’, ‘fear conflict’ and/or ‘will not trust’ then we are less than functional.  Thus, we must use the problem solving process.

When we ‘will not trust’ then we do not feel confident that the intent of our team mates is useful and we feel we must act in a guarded manner.   Thus, we must develop our ability to feel vulnerable and comfortable with each other.

When we ‘fear conflict’ then we avoid healthy productive conflict over a list of important ideas.  Note:  Conflict does NOT mean trashing others – at any time.

When we ‘lack commitment’ then we will not ask for clarification.  So, we decide without complete understanding in a timely manner.  Meaning, we ‘buy-in’ to the decision.  But, we are unsure if the decision is aligned with our mutual purpose.  Thus, consensus is not possible on all decisions.  But, we must hear and consider all of the opinions of our team members to make informed choices.

When we ‘avoid accountability’ then we will not identify our own acts that may hurt our team.

When we are ‘cohesive’ then we:

-         Trust our team members