Addressing Tensions Can Make Or Break A Team

Every business leader knows how difficult it is to deal with their desire for perfection. This perfectionist syndrome is the very reason why they often find themselves heartbroken. It is not that their employees couldn't do it; it's just that they didn't give enough room for adjustments or improvements. 

Aiming for the betterment of the team is always good, but trying to achieve perfection is not. The illusion of perfection is something the cause of team conflict. Managers often forget that their company is made up of humans and that their job is to lead these imperfect human beings to achieve something greater than themselves. 

What Does It Mean To Have Tension In The Company?

A company is considered one team. It is composed of different people with a different set of skills and knowledge to offer. Every member of the team contributes to the success of failure of the group. No one person is to be blamed. 

What is tension? A workplace that does not come with tension is simply an illusion. Tension is the intense feeling built on the differences of people. While most managers tend to view stress as something negative, there is something that proves to be helpful to most teams. 

Most of the time, managers tend to try to ignore the tension. They deny its existence, thinking that acknowledging it will break the team apart. However, what managers need to realize is that tension fuels every team member to always be on top of their game. 

If only managers can address the tension well, they don't have to worry about it backfiring towards them. Their way of handling conflict is going to affect how the rest of the team will work. 

How Does Tension Help Build Things Together?

Tension is always present, even if people deny that it is there. If you look at suspension bridges, that's the very basic notion of how stress helps build things together. These bridges are designed to be flexible, and that is what makes them truly strong. 

The bridge's compression is the force that acts to shorten the thing that the power is acting on while the tension is responsible for the energy that expands it. The constant conflict between tension and compression creates the flexibility to balance both and keep the bridge safe for commuters. 

This mindset of the engineer is the very mindset that a business manager ought to have. It is essential to identify the pillars that keep the team grounded. What will help each member manage the tension? How flexible or adaptive does the team have to be? 

Being the team manager puts you in a position that makes you responsible for the make or break of the team. It is not mere tension that will make your team fall apart. It is your mindset that compresses the team. And without the existing tension or conflict, the team will not grow. 

At this point, what's important is that you can manage each member's distinct character and how they can work well with the rest of the team. 

How Should You Deal With Tension?

When it comes to taking conflict resolution steps, it is essential to follow a process. The most problematic conflict that exists in the workplace is denial. Although it is often associated with a negative concept, the meaning of the word tension rests in the middle. It is neither good nor bad. 

In truth, tension is something that exists in different places among different people. While managers may fear tension, as part of the conflict resolution process that they will head, they need to recognize that sometimes, the presence of a tension in the team may actually be useful. 

Although they often choose to minimize it or kill it altogether, their goal is to actually help develop the tension to make it worthwhile for the rest of the team members to do something about it. 

Where do you begin? How do you help your team grow without pitting them against each other or taking sides yourself? Here are some helpful tips:

Tip 1: Let go of the negative

Tension may be destructive, but that's not always the case. There are productive tensions that help the team build good camaraderie. The tension itself could help develop the idea, improve the plans, and improve the group's overall performance. 

Tip 2: Tensions can be filled with smaller stresses too

There's no need to break it into pieces. For as long as you recognize this fact, it becomes much easier to deal with the tension at hand. Many studies show how tension within a team interferes with the overall performance of the team. However, it is not the tension that causes the struggle. It is how people react to the tension that turns it into a problem.

Tip 3: Believe that you can overcome tension

The initial response to the tension of company managers is the fight or flight. It may seem easier to leave their team to deal with the conflict on its own (flight), but it is more effective to face the tension head-on and perhaps create more tension in the team to solve the issue (fight). 

Every successful team knows that the secret to dealing with tension is to overcome it. Accept the differences in each member's opinion, recognize the efforts to help improve the team, and learn to work hand in hand to achieve success. 

What Can You Do With Tension Instead?

Remember that the absence of conflict is also the absence of hope that the team will improve. When all team members are the same, the team ends up not improving because everyone can do and will be doing the same thing. 

Like water, tension needs enough space where it can be discussed and acted upon accordingly. It will always try to find a way out if it is trapped. So instead of fearing tension and how it cripples your team, deal with it. 

Allow tension to help the team grow.