Using conflict and dissent to create robust & resilient solutions

When we think through work we primarily focus on the happy path, this only gives us half the picture. When we take time to explore the dark side of work, we can anticipate many of the dangers lurking in wait. There are many ways to explore this dark side and coming out the other side stronger.

Transcript

1. Julia Wester 55 Degrees AB @everydaykanban Using conflict & dissent to create robust, resilient solutions
3. “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” Walter Lippmann, "The Stakes of Diplomacy”, 1915 By Pirie MacDonald - Yale University Manuscripts & Archives Digital Images Database [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10533340
4. Our beliefs aren’t infallible
6. An expression of an opinion that is different than those commonly or officially held. Dissent Competitive or opposing action of incompatibles. Antagonistic state or action. Conflict
7. Dissent Today’s Focus
8. Your hiring practices matter
9. Mode of thinking that happens when the desire for harmony overrides a realis6c appraisal of the alterna6ves. Irving Janis, Psychologist GROUP THINK
10. “Groups often fail to outperform individuals because they prematurely move to consensus, with dissenting opinions being suppressed or dismissed.” Hackman, Morris (1975) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Image credit: Jeff Patton
11. X
12. “Contrary to popular wisdom and behavior, conflict is not a bad thing for a team. In fact, fear of conflict is almost always a sign of problems.” Patrick Lencioni Author of “The Advantage”
13. Agreement Disagreement - Winning argument > reaching goal - Lack of trust - Anger and resentment - Team members give up / opt out - “I told you so” mentality - Very little learning - Solutions not always best - Not safe to disagree - Lack of honesty - Contempt and cynicism - “I knew that would never work” mentality - Very little learning - Decisions get made - Everyone knows the final decision - Cohesion towards a goal - Excitement to move forward - You feel supported in your path - Safe to share differing viewpoint - Lots of learning - More confidence in choices - Growing skills in handling conflict - Ideas are better supported, regardless of outcome + - Let’s Explore the Polarities
14. “…I was assigned to write the court’s opinion. The final draft, released to the public, was ever so much better than my first, second, and at least a dozen more drafts, thanks to Justice Scalia’s attention-grabbing dissent.” Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg The Role of Dissenting Opinions
15. Promoter of the Faith “The Devil’s Advocate” Promoter of the Cause “God’s Advocate” vs.
16. Minority dissent, even dissent that is wrong, stimulates divergent thought. Nemeth, Staw (1989) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology
17. Dissent in the absence of cognitive diversity provides less value
18. 92% Cloverpop: Hacking Diversity with Inclusive Decision-Making choices 
 (or more) 
 lead to better decisions 7 of the time
19. Getty Images/Jason Kempin/Staff Editorial
20. Is it safe to have a dissenting opinion? Key Question
21. The Inclusion Framework Shore, Lynn M. et al. “Inclusion and Diversity in Work Groups: A Review and Model for Future Research.” (2011).
22. Constructive Destructive VS
23. Conflict Management
24. Techniques for inviting dissent
25. Six Thinking Hats The Black Hat Play’s the Devil’s Advocate role: • What are the weaknesses? • What is wrong with this idea? Simulated Dissent
26. Ritual Dissent Image courtesy: @FriendlyTester on Twitter Ritual Dissent is meant to simulate the process of delivering new ideas and to open up new thinking to necessary criticism and iterations
27. Ritual Dissent Image courtesy: @FriendlyTester on Twitter 1. Prepare your idea 2. Present it to the group, who remains silent 3. Turn your back to group 4. Listen, stay silent, and take notes as group discusses your idea, pointing out pros, cons, possible risks, and remaining questions. Authen0c Dissent
28. Can we make 
 it safer? What is the impact? How can you game it? How safe are our metrics? A team exercise Authen0c Dissent
29. Making Space with TRIZ A Liberating Structure What must we stop doing to make progress on our deepest purpose? Image Courtesy of The Liberators: https://medium.com/the-liberators/make-space-for-innovation-with-triz-26a3ec162d41
30. Steps and Schedule Authen0c, Less Direct, Future Making Space with TRIZ A Liberating Structure
31. Pre-mortems Predict the multiple ways you can fail and then do something about it! Authen0c, Future
32. ⚠ A few words of caution
33. Not all dissent is created equal Simulated dissent creates more ideas in support of the original position. Authentic dissent creates more original ideas on both sides of the debate.
34. “…experimental studies suggest that 
 benefits disappear once the team is tasked with deciding which ideas to select and implement, presumably because diversity hinders consensus.” https://hbr.org/2017/06/does-diversity-actually-increase-creativity Cognitive diversity doesn’t fix every problem
35. 1. Hire for diversity of thought (as one aspect). 2. Focus on crea7ng an inclusive environment. 3. Teach everyone, especially managers, conflict management skills and ac7ve listening. 4. Make construc7ve dissent an expecta7on of everyone, including yourself. 5. Reward desired behaviours. Tips for getting started
36. “Silence - not dissent - is the one answer that leaders should refuse to accept. Warren G. Bennis Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California.
37. julia@55degrees.se @everydaykanban & @55DegreesAB https://55degrees.se http://everydaykanban.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliawester/ C O N T I N U E T H E D I S C U S S I O N