When Lady Gaga learned about a little startup called Backplane, she loved the idea of a social networking site that would allow people with niche interests to create unique communities online. She provided big-name backing to the startup, adding a boost to its already abundant investment capital.
Where is Backplane now? Dead as a doornail. Internal conflicts between the founders led to mismanagement that drained all $18.9 million of the funding they’d received.
So, that’s the lesson here: All the money and endorsements in the world won’t guarantee you success if you can’t manage internal conflicts. But, with a strategy in place to manage conflicts when they arise, you can strengthen your team’s resolve and improve its ability to handle future challenges.
Avoiding conflict doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Conflict itself isn’t the problem. When smart, passionate and talented people work together, conflict is inevitable. If there’s zero conflict, it’s likely because either you don’t think your partner can handle honest feedback, or you feel the relationship is so fragile that you’re already walking on eggshells.
A lack of conflict, in fact, signifies a fundamental rift in the relationship that will lead to unresolvable problems later on if the rfit isn’t addressed. As author David Richo has said, “To be adult in a relationship is not to be conflict-free; it’s to resolve conflicts mindfully.”
That’s why dealing with disagreements early on is an opportunity to work effective conflict-resolution strategies into the DNA of your organization while your numbers are small.
Here are three ways to transform conflict from a concern to a tool that focuses passion on productive actions, improves communication and fosters strong relationships.
1. Check your vision.
If your partner and team members care deeply about your startup (as they should), they will have strong opinions about its strategy and direction. Although you may frequently disagree about the path you take, your end goals must be the same. This applies to both the vision of what the business accomplishes in the world and the culture within its walls.
To avoid catastrophic disagreements in the future, build a team of like-minded people. During candidate screenings for new positions, make sure your interviews include discussions about what candidates find attractive about your company and the…