If you’re lucky enough to work with lovely people in an engaged, productive workplace you might think you’ve won the world of work lottery. Companies and organisations invest millions each year consciously creating a culture that encourages collaboration and mutual respect but can a workplace be too nice?
Studies show that too much harmony – and a fear of speaking the truth – stifles innovation, may lead to a poor assessment of risks and can reduce the company’s competitive edge.
Melrona Kirrane, associate professor of organisational psychology at DCU Business School, says that in theory and practice, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. “If everyone is agreeing then nobody is thinking. Too much cohesion leads to groupthink. The endorsement of a particular way of behaving, thinking, opinions and viewpoints can make those who don’t share them feel like they don’t belong. Any dissent they raise is shot down so self-censorship prevails – and that’s a disaster all round.
“The absence of conflict is a bit of a red flag,” says Kirrane.
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Although we all want to get along, especially if we think we’ll be working together for decades, it might not be the best thing for the business, for the team or for your personal growth. It leads to mediocrity, instead of excellence.
Research tracking 3,000 teams over 20 years from the Ferrazzi Greenlight Research Institute in the US found that “72 per cent of team members avoid challenging conversations, not because they lack insight or courage but because traditional workplace cultures have conditioned them to prioritise artificial harmony over productive candour”.
Avoid ruinous empathy
Organisations that embrace candour increase the capacity for innovation and their speed of execution. Kim Scott, the author of bestselling book Radical Candor, has coined a phrase for the culture of nice – ruinous empathy.
“When bosses are too invested in everyone getting along they also fail to encourage the people on their team to criticise one another for fear of sowing discord. They create the kind of work environment where being ‘nice’ is prioritised at the expense of critiquing and therefore improving actual performance.”
Scott maintains that ruinous empathy can be more damaging than obnoxious aggression (brutal honesty and acting like a jerk) and manipulative insincerity (back-stabbing, political and passive-aggressive behaviour).
“Ruinous empathy happens when people want to avoid the tension or discomfort that can occur when delivering feedback that might make someone feel mad, sad or bad in the short term, but will help them succeed in the long run. So they avoid conflict and don’t address areas that need improvement.”
Encourage the gadfly mindset
Continuous improvement requires tension, the ability to ask questions safely and introspection, which is not always welcome. Greek philosopher Plato extolled the virtues of the “gadfly” in society. He believed that a biting fly could arouse or spur on a sluggish, complacent horse.
A person who is a gadfly pushes against the status quo of a community, society or government by posing novel, potentially upsetting questions in the service of truth. Plato used this term in Apology, his famous plea begging the Greek authorities to spare fellow thinker Socrates who was on trial for his life.
To avoid drinking the hemlock in your organisation, as Socrates was forced to do, you might focus collectively on greater honesty in your team.
A workplace that respects and acknowledges the value of diverse opinions is more interesting intellectually, richer socially and can also engender greater levels of trust
Conflict is a source of innovation and creativity, says Kirrane. “Debate and disagreement can be managed. The culture of the organisation should be ‘what are we trying to do here?‘”
Nobody has all the answers so the more brains you have on a problem, the better the possible outcomes. A workplace that respects and acknowledges the value of diverse opinions is more interesting intellectually, richer socially and can also engender greater levels of trust. When your voice at work is respected then you feel useful and may have greater loyalty to the team and organisation.
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Play the ball, not the player
When disagreements do arise, it’s important to name and address them. Say “we can’t seem to agree on speed vs quality for this product/service and that’s okay. Can we have a think about this overnight and come back to it tomorrow?”
Make sure the conflict is always focused on the idea and not the person who holds the idea. When we depersonalise issues they become easier to resolve and might lead to a better product, service or client relationship.
As a manager, it’s very important to stay calm and curious. When frustrations arise tempers can flare but it’s important to ensure that all voices are heard. Some staff members are quieter than others so it might take time to draw them out in a meeting or in a quiet word afterwards to see what they think of the issue at hand.
Silence can sometimes be an indicator of something else though. Kirrane was involved in a research project examining employee silence. Although a small group was studied it found that “employee silence, not speaking up is fear. It’s not agreement. You can’t take silence as an indicator or consent.”
If you’re striving for excellence, it’s hugely important to install respect for all viewpoints as a cultural norm, she says. “When we have an idea, we must justify our position. Everyone’s ideas are up for scrutiny. Proposals should be as watertight as we can get them.”
The way we give positive and negative feedback as leaders or managers is also important. Individuals learn best when you not only praise them for what went well but also give specific details as to the why?
Including the reasons allows the person and all team members to hear this praise more deeply and to learn your thinking on what works and what doesn’t. They’re more likely to assign a higher value to the type of work you praise and strive to do it that way in the future.
Use proven growth frameworks
Nicely, nicely or avoiding conflict is unlikely to lead to our best, most innovative work. Workplaces that value personal and professional growth will put structures in place to support it. What gets measured, gets done.
Kirrane urges companies and organisations to look at how achievement is being measured and managed. Are there any stretch targets that help people push themselves? Are you regularly using constructive group challenges to help harness creative tension and innovative thinking?
Edward de Bono’s six hats is a classic and very effective technique that can be used on a regular basis to improve individual and collective thinking. Each person in the team assumes a hat colour when analysing an issue and asks questions based on that thinking hat’s designation: facts (white), emotion/feelings (red), judgment/caution (black), benefits/optimism (yellow), ideas/creativity (green) and process/control (blue).
When you use a fun structured approach, scrutiny is designed into proposals and this helps the team focus strategically and creatively on where the company is trying to go. “Try to enjoy the process and not take it personally. It just becomes a standard operating procedure so you deal with it and prosper from it,” say Kirrane.
As employees, you’ll gain a huge amount from a culture of openness and intellectual rigour. “You’ll need to become more comprehensive in your suggestions. Over time, you’ll develop resilience, become more articulate, learn to speak on your feet and speak up.”
Overall, teams where people feel safe to disagree outperform other teams. They make better decisions. And the friction that may come with disagreement, even if it’s awkward sometimes – allows for creativity, growth and innovation.
Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@cleareye.ie
