Some of my favorite times in my career have come when I have taken the better part of a day and gone into "lockdown" with a number of my closest colleagues and creative advisors to develop a new program or an important new strategy. As the session progresses, the whiteboard overflows and we end up papering the walls with stick-up posters where we map out ideas. Everyone contributes.

And they often disagree, sometimes quite intensely. In fact, I myself am usually one of the people making an impassioned argument.

I admit that it can take tremendous discipline for me to yield and let others get their say, but ultimately I do because I want to hear all the ideas. I don't get too concerned when things get a little heated because, to be honest, I like the fact that they are engaged enough to get that passionate about being heard. It means they care. And it's just fun sometimes to watch smart people disagree.

In the end, some ideas make it and some don't – and some are modified and developed beyond what the original thinker envisioned. But we keep going until we have something that best serves the interests of our clients and as a result, our organization. Then we all go to dinner to celebrate. The strong disagreements of the day are now forgotten and the team is even closer for having gone through an intense collaborative process.

Often, as a leader you want to try to minimize the conflicts among members of your team. This is certainly important in most work situations. But there are times, such as team strategy meetings, when – as long as it doesn't become personal – some conflict is healthy, and even necessary. In fact, when I see a team meeting where one or two people are doing all the talking while others sit quietly and are unresponsive, I view it as a sign of a dysfunctional group.

The ideal team dynamic you're trying to achieve for these kinds of meetings is one where everyone is respectful, deeply invested, and no one is afraid to express their convictions. When passionate minds meet sparks sometimes fly, but that's how creative fires are lit.


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