Latent Team Issues: A Manager's Guide to Conflict Resolution

The Owl and The Beetle: Thursday Memo

A latent conflict among your ranks is one of the most troublesome situations you can encounter as a manager. The initial symptoms are often invisible, the problems protract in time, and when they surface, the situation is so severe that it cannot be ignored anymore.

Your team starts to miss deadlines, delivers poor outcomes, and your external stakeholders find it hard to collaborate with your personnel.

Imagine you're a ship's captain and notice a brewing storm on the horizon and tension among your crew. This is akin to hidden conflict in a team at work. As the leader, it's your responsibility to steer the ship through the storm and calm the crew's unrest.

This essay provides a straightforward process for managing and resolving a latent conflict in your team.

Let’s get to it!