How to Manage Project Conflict in a Family Business

“Managing Project Conflict in Your Family Business” article banner | Ferguson Alliance

Here’s a hard truth: conflict is inevitable in just about any kind of project you’ll take on in the business world. So, recognizing the signs of conflict early is essential to addressing and resolving issues before they escalate and completely derail your project.

Signs and Symptoms of Conflict

Sometimes it’s clear early on that some members of your team just aren’t on board with a project.

Some people might stir up gossip or discontent among the team. Others may begin to behave in ways that are unusual for them – for example, someone typically punctual and reliable beginning to come into the office or to meetings late, and maybe not meeting deadlines. Still, others may be outright argumentative, openly airing their negative feelings about the project at hand.

These behavioral shifts are all key signs that something isn’t right and that you need to help manage the situation.

How Do You Know Whether Conflict is Good or Bad?

Some conflict within any project is healthy. Your team must be strong enough to handle healthy disagreements about the best ways to move your project forward. This is the kind of conflict you actually want to encourage.

In general, you can tell that conflict is good, or healthy, when it’s actively seeking a better solution.

Constructive conflict happens when team members engage in open, respectful discussions – even when they disagree.

Bad, or unhealthy, conflict, on the other hand, looks like something else.

If a team member is openly hostile or dismissive toward others’ ideas, making their opposition well-known without offering constructive feedback or offering solutions, that behavior can create a toxic environment.

Tips for Managing Conflict on a Project

Any group of smart, passionate professionals working collaboratively will disagree at some point about the best path forward.

Most of the time, that disagreement is healthy and stays focused on addressing the issues at hand.

However, to keep unhealthy conflict from thriving, here are some actions you can take:

• Involve the right people
• Adapt the team as necessary
• Involve a trusted partner

For further information on each of the three aforementioned conflict management actions for family businesses, please read the original article found on the Ferguson Alliance website.