Page Title

Productive Conflict

 July 12, 2006

"In healthy groups, members examine and debate the merits of the proposal before the group, a process that experts call substantive conflict.  Substantive conflicts produce a number of positive outcomes, including these:

• Accurate understanding of the arguments and positions of others in the group
• Higher-level reasoning
• Thorough problem analysis
• Improved self-understanding and self-improvement
• Stronger, deeper relationships
• Creativity and change
• Greater motivation to solve the problem
• Improved mastery and retention of information
• Deeper commitment to the outcome of the discussion
• Increased group cohesion and cooperation
• Improved ability to deal with future conflicts
• High-quality solutions that integrate the perspective of all members (Johnson, 2005, p. 228-229)."

Reference:  Johnson, C.E. (2005).  Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership (2^nd edition).  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications.

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Created: 2008-04-01, Updated: 2009-04-30