sistance to the decision. Perhaps you've felt attacked personally in a disagreement and so decide not to put yourself in the line of fire again. You decide to let a small problem pass and hope it doesn’t lead to a bigger problem later. In the name of job security, you avIn workplace teams, individual IQs might average 140, yet the collective IQ might be closer to 85. So said neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Richard Ross when commenting about unproductive conflict at work. It doesn't have to be that way.

One key is managing---even encouraging---healthy conflict. Successful organizations rely, in part, on the kind of effective decisions that come from voices able to ask the difficult questions, raise the unnameable issues, and work together productively to sort out solutions that will endure. When handled well, disagreements result in more careful thought about the complex problems that organizations face.

Conflict avoidance is the nemesis of highly effective decision making. Maybe you've chosen to be quiet about something that’s bothering you, in the name of being polite, and so you gripe about it behind closed doors or at home. In meetings, you ask if anyone objects to a particular plan and assume or hope that the ensuing silence means agreement; then you find out later that there is unhappiness about or resistance to the decision. Perhaps you've felt attacked personally in a disagreement and so decide not to put yourself in the line of fire again. You decide to let a small problem pass and hope it doesn’t lead to a bigger problem later. In the name of job security, you avo

aging---even encouraging---healthy conflict. Successful organizations rely, in part, on the kind of effective decisions that come from voices able to ask the difficult questions, raise the unnameable issues, and work together productively to sort out solutions that will endure. When handled well, disagreements result in more careful thought about the complex problems that organizations face.

Conflict avoidance is the nemesis of highly effective decision making. Maybe you've chosen to be quiet about something that’s bothering you, in the name of being polite, and so you gripe about it behind closed doors or at home. In meetings, you ask if anyone objects to a particular plan and assume or hope that the ensuing silence means agreement; then you find out later that there is unhappiness about or resistance to the decision. Perhaps you've felt attacked personally in a disagreement and so decide not to put yourself in the line of fire again. You decide to let a small problem pass and hope it doesn’t lead to a bigger problem later. In the name of job security, you av

will endure. When handled well, disagreements result in more careful thought about the complex problems that organizations face.

Conflict avoidance is the nemesis of highly effective decision making. Maybe you've chosen to be quiet about something that’s bothering you, in the name of being polite, and so you gripe about it behind closed doors or at home. In meetings, you ask if anyone objects to a particular plan and assume or hope that the ensuing silence means agreement; then you find out later that there is unhappiness about or resistance to the decision. Perhaps you've felt attacked personally in a disagreement and so decide not to put yourself in the line of fire again. You decide to let a small problem pass and hope it doesn’t lead to a bigger problem later. In the name of job security, you av

ou, in the name of being polite, and so you gripe about it behind closed doors or at home. In meetings, you ask if anyone objects to a particular plan and assume or hope that the ensuing silence means agreement; then you find out later that there is unhappiness about or resistance to the decision. Perhaps you've felt attacked personally in a disagreement and so decide not to put yourself in the line of fire again. You decide to let a small problem pass and hope it doesn’t lead to a bigger problem later. In the name of job security, you avsistance to the decision. Perhaps you've felt attacked personally in a disagreement and so decide not to put yourself in the line of fire again. You decide to let a small problem pass and hope it doesn’t lead to a bigger problem later. In the name of job security, you avoid disagreeing with those above you in the hierarchy.

There are ways to encourage constructive conflict in an organization and still avoid or minimize the things you and others fear most about conflict---escalation, destructiveness, and time wasting.

Acknowledge and reward people who have the courage to disagree constructively. Acknowledgement can run the gamut from the informal “thank you for raising that---let’s talk through it some more” to formal inclusion in performance appraisal or organizational reward systems.

Teach managers how to embrace healthy conflict. The way those in leadership respond to conflict will influence the degree to which employees are willing to engage in healthy debate and voice differences of opinion. Teach managers to view disagreement as healthy and welcome instead of a challenge to their authority, and teach them the basic skills of good conflict management and negotiation in teams. Make sure managers are not sending the message, even inadvertently, that anyone who disagrees will be “in trouble