Provocative, insightful and Must-read for every CEO! Read the full article at Strategy & Business. “How CEOs can turn conflict, dissent, and disagreement into a powerful tool for driving performance. Chief executives most often work in a pressure-cooker atmosphere where two kinds of tension are present. The first kind is the natural tension that exists...

In addition to McKinsey ideas on how to avoid bias in meetings; I also suggest using techniques like the Six Thinking Hats approach. I’ve blogged about it here. In this technique, you ask one of your audience to wear the hat of optimism, while another one wears the hat of pessimism, other with the hat of facts, hat of creativity, and hat of intuition, and you...

 Workplace conflict may be frustrating, but is it worth the incredible effort required to tackle it? Authors Craig Runde and Tim Flanagan suggest taking a close look at the financial and human costs of not being able to reduce conflict – a problem they call “conflict incompetence.” In their book, Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader, Runde and...

What can leaders do to manage conflict and improve a situation? Learn to replace destructive behaviors with constructive behaviors, and you will see a difference in how conflict plays out around you. In their book, Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader, Craig Runde and Tim Flanagan of Eckerd College, an affiliate of the Center for Creative Leadership describe seven...

 If you have friction, discomfort or outright conflict at the office, it can make for a tough — and ineffective — work environment. Many leaders and HR pros assume that the generation gap is a key cause of trouble. But as a matter of fact, conflict has less to do with age or generational differences than it does with clout: who has it and who wants it. What is...