Navigating Conflict on Agile Teams: Why Resolving it Won't Work

Excellent presentation. Good title change. I was having trouble figuring out “why resolving [conflict] won’t work.” Because resolving (or getting past) conflict is what happens in productive groups.

My sense is that conflict is particularly hard to resolve in newly constituted Agile groups because often there is a lack of uniform commitment to the concept and thus to the group. How did you come to be on the group? “I was assigned.” Not much ownership. Not much shared awe.

Longstanding marriages often handle (ultimately unresolvable) conflicting views by agreeing to disagree. You also agree not to provoke or tease the other person about the conflict. The commitment and the benefits very simply mean more than the conflict. This is the other pole on the commitment continuum.

So how do new groups knit together when, going in, at least some of the people don’t believe in the efficacy of the new process at all? Fundamentally, they need to witness process success and understand their place in it. Disbelieving team members may come around after seeing local success. And maybe not.

In a software team the process can be easier. Witnessing the effect of intense daily interaction and short cycle times through the entire process give disbelievers more chances to witness success. They either come around or deselect pretty quickly.