The Adventures of Team Fantastic: A Practical Guide for Team Leaders and Members

Chapter 9

Managing Conflict

In spite of the letdowns and failures experienced so far, members of Team Fantastic have gotten along pretty well. You were angry when your teammates fell asleep in the raft but handled this problem in an open, healthy way once you eluded the alligators. The team was bruised, exhausted, and disappointed with the leader by the time you returned to the bicycle shop, but after talking openly about this fiasco you realized what the team had done wrong and vowed to make changes next time.

In both these events, Team Fantastic turned potentially damaging conflict into a helpful lesson that could benefit the team in the future. Members focused on getting the job done and learning from the experience. If members focus on the ...