Not all conflicts in the lab are harmful. Constructive conflict associated with healthy debate is critical to solving hard problems in the science, operations, and management of the lab. It is vital to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to bear on the complex challenges of the lab. Many times, these different approaches will feel orthogonal to one another, and the supporters of each side may feel the need to defend their positions and attack other positions. Lab managers can greatly benefit from creating safe spaces for people to disagree about data, observations, ideas, projects, and results. These disagreements bring new potential solutions to the table for the lab to benefit from. However, managing constructive conflict can be challenging. Here are three actions lab managers can take to create an environment where healthy debate can provide new ideas and solutions:
#1 – Focus on ideas
Focus on ideas, not on people. It’s not important who makes the suggestion or has the idea. It’s not a contest or a competition. The goal is a collaborative search for the best truth the lab can find. This is the time to leave ego at the door. The discussion, debate, and disagreement need to focus on the issues, facts, and data, not on the people participating in the conversation. The participants need to disentangle their ideas from their identity and be willing to carefully consider both the feedback and the quality of other ideas.
#2 – Practice active listening
Active listening is the key skill required during a healthy debate. Participants need to do the work to fully understand the content of someone else’s ideas and listen carefully to what is not said. This is a time to be present and focus on the speaker, not the time to be preparing your rebuttal and arguments. Each speaker needs to feel fully heard, and each participant needs to be able to ask clarifying questions and effectively summarize other people’s contributions. Give grace to how the argument is presented and focus on the truths and opportunities within their statements.
#3 – Ensure psychological safety
To effectively share their ideas, observations, and criticisms, participants need to feel safe. Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “individuals will not be punished, embarrassed, or humiliated for speaking up with questions, concerns, ideas, or mistakes.” Lab managers need to develop a culture of learning and an environment of mutual support and respect to ensure that everyone feels safe to contribute, especially with unpopular or half-baked ideas. For labs to solve their truly challenging, complex problems, they need full engagement and contributions from everyone.
Lab managers who embrace the beauty of healthy debate and constructive conflict will benefit from better ideas, greater creativity, faster problem-solving, and higher employee engagement that will deliver greater success to the lab.
