Building Conflict Competent Teams

Chapter 4. 4 CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUNICATION

The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.

—George Bernard Shaw

Interpersonal communication is perhaps the single most analyzed, most researched, and most investigated topic in the field of training and development. In our many years of experience in the field, we wouldn't hesitate to say that the vast majority of the leadership and team development training classes we've presented or attended have addressed interpersonal communication. So it feels a bit obvious to suggest that constructive communication is one of the core characteristics of conflict competent teams. It's just not a major revelation. The rather sobering truth of the matter is that if teams and team members communicate constructively on a consistent basis, there would be a lot less destructive conflict in teams, and we would be writing a different book.

Patrick Lencioni (2002) describes the interaction of an absence of trust and a fear of conflict as the first two of his five dysfunctions of a team. He suggests that teams suffering from these two dysfunctions are essentially devoid of open, honest communication. Eloquently and simply he suggests that these teams are "incapable of engaging in unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas" (p. 188). This lack of candor stifles creativity and innovation, as well as a team's ability to effectively address the conflict. This inability to communicate openly, honestly, and completely jeopardizes ...