Productive conflict

Within many organizations, teams have learned to be very comfortable discussing technology-related topics, but discussing what we think of the other is challenging. In Lencioni’s pyramid, this is part of being able to have productive conflict, which is possible after a certain level of trust. Being able to have conflict in a way that is productive and that helps improve is challenging. However, without productive conflict, a team will not be able to learn and improve. Agile scrum (and many other practices) prescribe a retrospective as an ideal moment to instil a learning habit in a team. Many retrospective structures attempt to get the group to provide feedback which is then openly discussed. However, implementing this practice without a structure of trust and productive conflict is difficult. Simply starting will often help, but sometimes progress will stall. But where to start? Holding a normal retro but having a team perform this from the perspective of the other might help.

Teams that may benefit from this exercise

While implementing agile practices and learning culture in an organization, one challenge we encountered recently was a team that proclaimed often to work well together but didn’t progress. This is a newly formed team in an existing organization, but where people didn’t work as teams before. Given that they work with technology, technology is what they’re comfortable discussing. Rational discussions discussing content are what they’re comfortable with. Starting with Agile scrum-based rituals this is what we saw in the first 10 sprints: rational discussions where we were comfortable what was comfortable outside our team or even what went wrong on a technical level. But discussing what we thought of the behaviour of the other, discussing values or even the way we communicate was often much more sensitive. We liked each other right? No need to discuss those topics. On the contrary, we discovered after 10 sprints that there was a lot unsaid, and people were compensating for each other. Another challenge here is that this is a group that is predominantly introverted. They absorb, process and feel that they need to deal with this themselves. If you combine this with a preference of team members for a rational and logical approach to decisions (thinking preference), we have a group that is comfortable in just progressing the way we have always done. This is an example of a group that might benefit from this exercise, but any group that is still in the process of norming could benefit as it forces the group to take into account the perspective of their peers.

The Exercise: Switching roles

This team was now comfortable with different retro formats and had done 10 bi-weekly retro’s already. Then one retro we decided on a different approach. We picked the Good/Bad/Ugly retro (see Good/Bad/Ugly Retro example), but any simple retro format would work.

Step 1: This step is timeboxed at 10 minutes for everyone. Using the Time Timer works great for this, as the group has good insight into the time needed. People write down their points for this retro on Post-its. We did this together alone: we sat together but they had to write this down in silence. This allows everyone to take the time to think, write things down and then together to analyze this. The prompt for this first step was different, however: they had to write it down for the person sitting on their left. This means: writing it down on their behalf, as if the other has written it. Write down the initials for the person writing it down, and for whom they have written it.

Step 2: Now that everyone has written their feedback down, we put it in the appropriate columns on the board. Make sure that you have at least 1 point of feedback for both Good, Bad and Ugly. The person who has written it for the other describes why thought this was the experience of the other.

Step 3: Verify whether the other confirms this. Nudge them towards an interaction about the perceived experience during this sprint.

Step 4: When it comes to improvement points of this sprint, this exercise triggers people to describe pain points others have experienced. Ask in this fourth step the person to advise the person they have written this item for. After this let the group join in, and turn it into a group goal. This requires a careful role as a facilitator.

Step 5: Review with the group what was different about this retrospective.

Impact of this exercise

The effect of this different approach was immediate and could be felt. The group felt safe enough to express more about what they had assumed about the other. Often this was nuanced or confirmed that the other had seen the struggle someone was experiencing. The group in the end confirmed immediately the effect this had had. It had unearthed many challenges they previously felt uneasy discussing. They discovered they had a lot of premonitions about each other that they didn’t confirm.

What we learned from doing this exercise is the importance of empathy within a group. A lot is assumed but often ill-understood about the other. By doing this exercise in a psychologically safe setting, the group took steps on the levels of trust and productive conflict. Especially a group of more introverted people that are rationally oriented, feel often more uncertain discussing feelings with others.

Developing trust and productive conflict

This exercise shows the need within a team to understand each other well and to be able to have productive conflict. Only when this is present, a team can learn and improve. By doing a different kind of retrospective, a team can practice seeking conflict safely. Another exercise that can be done in addition is an MBTI group exercise investigating each other’s personality preferences. By understanding the group dynamic utilizing MBTI, a group can improve their communication and way of decision-making. Both these topics add to a level of trust and productive conflict, allowing a group to further develop its performance. Interested? Read more about our recently launched MBTI assessments or contact Mark Your Progress!