Smart Quotes on Transforming Team Conflict

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From NetSpeed Leader Volume 20, December 2004

These quotations are taken from Unstuck: A Tool for Yourself, Your Team, and Your World, by Keith Yamashita and Sandra Spataro.

More heart, less intellect. Most of us are trained to be logical. When given a problem or roadblock, we try to dig into the facts. Often, motivating teams to take the right action requires first doing something else entirely: spending time building a common identity, or picking a common enemy, or gaining a common understanding. Getting unstuck involves appealing not just to your team’s rational mind, but also to its soul.


All for one? One for all? Effective teams are motivated through a combination of individual and team-based incentives. If incentives are at the individual level, there is little reason to cooperate (think everyone working just for him or herself). If all the incentives are at the team level, there is little reason to contribute (think freeloaders in a tug-of-war). . . . The balance should be in line with the amount of responsibility or control team members have over each area.

Embrace thine enemy. Is your team stuck because there is an “enemy” in the organization trying to defeat the acceptance of your idea or your approach? Make a list of the people who stand against you and then:


1. Befriend them.
2. Convince them.
3. Get into a true dialogue that can improve your idea.
4. Invite them in.
5. Have them headhunted into a different company.