One thing your team is lacking; (honest) conflict!

Conflict, for any team, is not easy to deal with. However, avoiding conflict altogether can lead to even bigger implications.

“Honest conflict has more social value than dishonest harmony” — Joe Rogan. This statement is especially true in work environments where dishonest harmony is often a symptom of dysfunctional teams. Over the last couple of months, I have noticed that often our team hold back their thoughts to avoid conflict with the employees of our client. In this piece I will explain how dishonest harmony will affect your software delivery team.

“…leads to an inferior product”

“The customer is always right”, we have all heard that a few times, you may have even used the phrase a few times (with the telcos). Often that is the attitude consultants employ with clients. In our minds the thought process may be;

conflict with client → upset client → bad things happen…

This creates a tempo where our many product decisions (usually made by the client) have gone unchallenged. As a result, suboptimal decisions are being made which ultimately leads to an inferior product.

“…absorb their ineffective practices and make it our own dysfunction”

Clients often have their own way of working which has likely been that way for an extended period of time. It does not always align with what you need as an agile software delivery team. In many instances, instead of asking the client to drastically change their approach to the project, we absorb their ineffective practices and make it our own dysfunction.

At the end of the day, conflict will always come with the risk of offending the other party. Creating honest conflict with your client may not make you or them feel good at the time… As these conflicts are resolved over time, both you and the client will begin to realise that you have worked together to drive a superior outcome. Honest conflict is the building block of a long lasting relationship.

Tony Liu — Senior Consultant at Lexicon Digital