Profiting from the Clash of Ideas: Constructive Conflict Leads to Better Decisions and Results

This Element is an excerpt from Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer: Managing for Conflict and Consensus (ISBN: 9780137000630) by Michael A. Roberto. Available in print and digital formats.

Use constructive conflict to drive better decision-making, greater innovation, and real competitive advantage.

If an organization is saddled with a culture of polite talk, superficial congeniality, and low psychological safety, how can a leader spark greater candor? What tools can leaders employ to ignite a lively, constructive scuffle? Let’s examine how one chief executive created a decision process that was “confrontational by design.”