A diverse Executive Team of talented, strong, diverse individuals is a great thing, right? Diversity can promote passionate discussions, provides multiple perspectives, create a richer range of options, and, ultimately produce better decisions. Diversity also generates conflict; sometimes, a lot of it!
When teams fail to become cohesive and powerful, it is often because their leaders are uncomfortable with, or lack the knowledge of, how to manage conflict. Some leaders see conflict as a problem to be eliminated, so they strive, instead, for harmony. Harmony breeds complacency though, and harmony and complacency are actually strong predictors of poor performance. Productive conflict, when focused on the right decisions for the whole organization, is a sign of a healthy cohesive team.
