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Have you ever had a friend who was obviously upset or sad? But when you asked them about it, they said, “Oh, I’m fine.” Or “nothing’s wrong.” Or “I’m okay.” You know that they’re not telling the truth, but they’re afraid of rocking the boat, so “they’re fine.” The same thing happens with teams. But I know you’re on top of it coach! You know that small, unsolved problems can snowball into gigantic barriers to your team’s success if not addressed. So let’s check out how conflict can actually be a good thing if handled correctly.

5 reasons to embrace conflict as a healthy part of a team environment

1. Conflict causes pain. That doesn’t sound so great, but sometimes it’s what our players need in order to face a major problem. You can only sweep things under the rug for so long! While you guide them through conflict resolution, you can remind them that they can avoid the pain by talking it out with one another before it gets bad.

2. Conflict fights stagnation. Maybe your team has gotten into a negative rut and it’s time to break out of it! Cliques, fighting, or giving each other the cold shoulder are all negative norms that need to be stopped. If your team has settled into a “normal” pattern of bad behavior, it’s time to shake things up!

3. Conflict can end a negative relationship cycle. This piggy backs the previous point. Ignoring things doesn’t make them go away…as a matter of fact, that can make things worse. Given the nature of teams, there are bound to be folks whose personalities don’t mesh perfectly. It’s our job to show our athletes that addressing the problem can be productive and healthy.

4. Conflict can lead to creativity. In my mind, this is what happens when #2 goes well. You get creative. You don’t do things just because that’s the way you’ve always done them. Breaking free of your team’s unhealthy norms could be just the thing you needed to get really innovative with your approach to your team…on and off of the court.

5. Conflict helps to refresh team dynamics. If you’ve got jacked up team chemistry, you might just have to blow it all up and start over. Stories I’ve heard or seen in my past: freshmen do all of the grunt work, seniors start regardless of ability, “cool kids” don’t break out of their cliques…even for their teammates, players only warming up with their friends. If that’s your situation, then make it stop…like, right now. Make your players get to know each and every person on the team, even the ones they think aren’t as good as they are.

We’ve got to let our teams know that not talking about a problem will end up worse for them in the end. They think they’re “going with the flow” when really they’re building up resentment. Let’s encourage conflict resolution as a healthy way to build great team chemistry.