Great leaders view conflict as a positive. They value the art of passionately debating, challenging each person’s perspectives and assumptions, and wrestling with all the angles of a difficult situation. 

Great leaders don’t view conflict as personal, it doesn’t involve judging one another’s ideas and it doesn’t leave a lingering resentment of others, or negative energy. 

How about you? How do you view conflict at work?

Do you invite your team to challenge the way things have always been done at your organization?

Great leaders don’t get locked into the “that’s the way things are done around here” syndrome. Instead, they give their employees the autonomy to solve their own problems, freeing up space to do their own big work, while also empowering their team to grow and develop into the most impactful version of themselves.

How do we fix the not fixing?

While quickly providing solutions to employees’ problems can be tempting, given your pressing deadlines and long list of important tasks, consider the value-building approach of asking them the right questions, which include benefits like helping them develop their problem-solving abilities, creativity, and resourcefulness.

Try a 5-minute self check-in exercise to build self-awareness.

Have you ever wondered how I made the shift from Wall Street to Operations, to Executive Coaching? Last week I sat down with Dr. Chad Prevost and Dr. Shelley Prevost from The Big Self Podcast and Big Self School to talk about my journey from Leadership roles in finance and healthcare to coaching today’s leaders how to have more impact and less stress at the office and at home.

Being able to stay calm, open-minded, and quickly adapt to shifting circumstances in this wild new world, is and will continue to be a competitive advantage in the workplace. Great leaders are able to navigate the changing winds of their teams' emotions and chart the course ahead. Learn to set the tone of your organization, while managing your team's big personalities and strong emotions.

Statistics show two-thirds of employees in the U.S. are completely disengaged or neutral about their work. This means that asking great questions, and listening even better, is more important than ever. Great leaders draw out the best thinking and performance from their employees. It’s about being present—tuning into yourself and those around you, and holding space for your team—and allowing the smartest people in the room to speak up, and genuinely listening, rather than dominating the conversation, and shutting down those around you.

Research shows that teams operating with psychological safety have employees who are less likely to leave, more likely to harness the power of diversity, and ultimately, who are more productive and successful.

When creating world-class cultures where extraordinary teams can thrive, great leaders foster a key component, psychological safety. A supportive environment in which all team members feel safe to take risks, voice their opinions, and ask judgment-free questions. A culture where managers provide air cover and create safe zones so employees feel protected and comfortable letting down their guard. 

“Stay patient, or take the next best offer?” he kept asking himself. After all, these were crucial decisions, at a critical juncture in his career, and he needed to make the next several years count, he kept telling himself. He was a successful start-up executive with two impressive stints at well-known, venture-backed companies over the last decade plus. Yet, he found himself in unfamiliar territory. An uncertain space. What to do. Where to go next.