Summary
Highlights
CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke introduce themselves as 'team doctors' who help businesses with conflict. They propose that conflict is not inherently good or bad, but rather an energy source for creativity, innovation, and transformation if managed correctly.
CrisMarie shares a traumatic childhood experience with her father that taught her to avoid conflict and manage her environment to keep everyone happy. She became a "professional conflict avoider," excelling in various fields but feeling like a fraud despite her external success.
Susan recounts how surfacing past conflicts, including sexual trauma and family issues, was essential for her survival and ultimately led to a cancer diagnosis and recovery. This experience taught her the value of confronting conflict directly.
The speakers emphasize that business is personal and that idealized views of team unity are unrealistic. They argue that diverse opinions, often leading to conflict, are natural. Most people diffuse conflict, leading to disengagement and mediocre results, as supported by Gallup data on employee engagement.
The two 'magic ingredients' for transforming conflict are vulnerability and curiosity. Vulnerability means being willing to expose oneself to risk by being honest about thoughts, feelings, and desires. Curiosity involves owning one's judgments but remaining open to different perspectives and possibilities.
An example of an IT company acquiring a smaller firm demonstrates the power of vulnerability and curiosity. When a new executive, Jane, vehemently disagreed with the team's strategy, one executive chose vulnerability and curiosity, leading to a redesigned strategy that catapulted the company to success.
Susan revisits her cancer journey, highlighting a healing circle where vulnerability and curiosity transformed a contentious situation with Father Jack. The speakers conclude by reiterating that conflict is an energy source for innovation and transformation, urging individuals to use it rather than defuse it.