How to Achieve Productive Discord in a Zoom Meeting
Maybe you are one of those who love confrontation and love to argue. Or perhaps you are someone who tries to avoid people and situations like this at all costs, and then gets mad at yourself for not speaking when you disagree with someone. Either way, when you collaborate with others at work, disagreements are inevitable. According to Forbes’ Ann Sugar, while they may be awkward at the moment, they are also part of an effective decision-making process.
While it is one thing to discuss in person, it can be especially difficult to do so virtually. Here are some tips from Sugar to help you make your Zoom disagreements as productive as possible.
First, build trust
Before you get to the point of disagreement, Sugar says that you need to first build trust in your team. If you are a leader, make sure your coworkers know that you care about them by actually demonstrating it – so they don’t take work differences personally.
Here’s what Sugar also has:
Creating a nurturing landscape takes a significant amount of time and effort. One of the easiest ways to create this atmosphere is to focus on small details and make simple gestures; for example, ask how your line manager’s day is going and give specific feedback on your line manager’s work. This approach means you spend more time in person to ask more questions and offer coaching. All these small details create a caring work environment in which disagreements are not a threat.
Don’t rush it
Most people (understandably) want to end Zoom meetings as soon as possible. But if a disagreement arises, Sugar recommends taking enough time to actually discuss it. No, this does not mean sitting back and watching unhealthy and useless arguments – just give people the opportunity to disagree and feel heard.
Ask everyone to come to the meeting with different ideas.
Sugar says she once worked for a person who required everyone in the meeting to come up with three ideas to solve some of the company’s most pressing problems. Thus, in case of disagreement, the leader could ask people about their other ideas, suggesting additional solutions. “If you’re stuck with your team, pause and invite team members to come together with other possible solutions to the problem,” she recommends.