😡 Is there enough conflict in your remote team? ft Dr David Burkus | Ep54 OoO

Hey, Welcome Back!

Is your team suspiciously agreeable?

Something is off, and it’s not just your mute button.

💥 This week Dr David Burkus is here to weigh in on whether team conflict a hindrance… or a hidden superpower.

David is a 5X bestselling business book author, and a leading mind on the subjects of leadership, remote work and – you guessed it – teams! As an organizational psychologist and keynote speaker, he’s delivered over 250+ speeches to audiences all over the world.

This business school professor turned thought-leader now teaches titans from NASA to Adobe. When Dr Burkus speaks, the business world listens!

🤯 And what he was about to tell me changed how I thought about conflict, forever.

Whenever I start with a new leader I ask them this:

“When was the last time someone disagreed with you in front of the team? A lot of people can’t answer – which is a HUGE indication that we have a problem. We want people to feel SAFE enough to share different opinions.”

🤐 Super SUS: Silent agreement can be low-key disagreement in stealth mode.

We’ve all been there. A meeting with several remote colleagues and not a single one had ANY pushback on ANYTHING you proposed.

You might have left the call elated – after all, everyone is onboard right? Wrong.

🥺 This is fear masquerading as agreement. And it’s poison for innovation! If no-one ever disagrees with you, your team is heading toward disaster.

Using conflict wisely in remote work is like strategically placing your WiFi boosters at home. You need to know WHERE and HOW to set them up for the best signal – so that you don’t end up with a bunch of dead zones in critical areas.  

And that’s what we’re talking about today.

It’s episode 54 and I’m chatting to Dr Burkus about conflict & innovation in remote teams.

We pick apart the dead zones and take a hard look at what conflict can do, if leaders learn to tap into it’s potential.

📊 Because it NEEDS to exist in highly creative, high performing teams.

“Every Pixar film starts out as the worst idea you’ve ever heard.

And conflict is how their movies go from suck to non-suck. Conflict is the thing that makes their product better.”

David heard this from Ed Catmill himself (Former Pixar President).

It’s a powerhouse episode today that will help you embrace imperfection, reject fear and flip the switch from absent to healthy conflict in your team.

🍴 Stick a fork in agreeableness this year.

It’s done.

📽️ This Week on Episode 54:

🤠 Find out how Pixar’s conflict-ridden creative process wins

🤬 Get the blatant truth on the unexpected benefits of workplace conflict

🤝 Learn to break free from the curse of ‘too much’ virtual agreement

😌 Explore how to build psychological safety into your team culture

🚀 Discover Google’s critical habits that make the perfect team

A massive thank-you to Dr David Burkus for sharing his incredible research & insights with us. We’ll be carrying a new perspective on healthy dissent into our 2024 team meetings!

🌊 If your remote calls are starting to feel like a synchronized swimming event (everyone is going with the flow) – then dive into this episode to learn how to make some waves with productive conflict.

It will ramp up your threshold for team innovation this year!

⚡ Enjoy!

Fight for the best ideas -

Andrew

Featured Guest

Dr David Burkus is an international keynote speaker and thought-leader on business leadership. He’s written 5 bestsellers, including Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Management Remote Teams, and Best Team Ever! The Surprising Science of High Performing Teams.

David’s ideas have been showcased in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal and many others.

Known for his insightful keynotes and actionable takeaways, he works with leaders across multiple industries – from PepsiCO to Fidelity. He’s been named one of the world’s leading business thinkers of today…twice!

Find him on LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok here.

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