Research on conflicts in Scrum teams highlights the impact of latent conflicts on team performance and job satisfaction. However, open conflicts, when managed appropriately, can enhance team creativity and problem-solving abilities. Conflict management determines its effect on organizational outcomes and can foster an innovative and adaptable culture. Scrum Masters play a significant role in resolving conflicts and mitigating project failures. Understanding the evolutionary roots of conflict management is crucial in modern organizational settings. Addressing conflicts goes beyond immediate issues and influences long-term team culture, efficacy, adaptability, and resilience. Effective management strategies are essential for handling conflicts.
From the article and the given research findings, several important insights and practical solutions can be highlighted:
1. Latent conflict can negatively impact team dynamics, causing decreased team performance and reduced job satisfaction. Hence, it is recommended to address latent conflicts preemptively and prevent them from escalating.
2. Open conflict, when appropriately managed, can actually have positive outcomes on a team, such as boosting creativity and problem-solving abilities. This highlights the importance of creating an environment where conflict is welcomed and managed constructively.
3. Conflict management plays a vital role in organizational outcomes. It is essential to actively manage conflicts, as effective conflict management enhances innovation and adaptability within a team or organization.
4. Resolving conflicts effectively establishes clearer group norms and strengthens intergroup cohesion, ultimately contributing to a more cohesive team culture.
5. In the Agile project management environment, poor conflict management is identified as a leading factor in project failures. Scrum Masters have a crucial role to play in mitigating conflict risks by cultivating their ability to manage uncertain and evolving relationships through grounded expertise in social psychology.
6. Evolutionary psychology suggests that conflict management strategies may be ingrained within human social structures as a result of ancestral group living. Acknowledging and addressing these innate tendencies can aid conflict resolution in contemporary organizational settings more effectively.
7. Handling conflicts isn’t just about immediate issue resolutions. Conflict management weaves into the overall fabric of team culture, influencing the long-term efficacy, adaptability, and resilience of the organization.
The article’s insights demonstrate the multiple factors affecting conflicts, highlighting the importance of understanding the nature of conflicts, managing them effectively in a way that benefits teams and the organization in the long run.
Action items:
1. Assign someone to review the 2011 study in the Journal of Organizational Behavior on the negative impact of latent conflicts on team dynamics, and propose measures to address latent conflicts within Scrum teams.
2. Assign someone to review the research from Harvard Business Review (2018) on the benefits of open conflicts when managed appropriately, and explore ways to encourage constructive open conflicts within Scrum teams.
3. Assign someone to review the 2016 study in the Academy of Management Journal on how conflict management affects organizational outcomes, and develop strategies to manage conflicts effectively within Scrum teams to foster innovation and adaptability.
4. Assign someone to study the theories of Emile Durkheim and their applicability to conflict resolution in modern organizations, and propose methods to resolve conflicts that establish clearer group norms and strengthen intergroup cohesion within Scrum teams.
5. Assign someone to review the 2017 report by the Project Management Institute (PMI) on the correlation between poor conflict management and project failures, and highlight the role of Scrum Masters in mitigating conflicts and reducing associated risks in Agile environments.
6. Assign someone to explore the Agile Alliance’s research (2019) on the importance of Scrum Masters having grounding in social psychology, and identify ways to enhance Scrum Masters’ ability to navigate and manage both latent and open conflicts effectively within Scrum teams.
7. Assign someone to review the 2014 paper in the Journal of Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences on conflict management strategies ingrained within human social structures, and analyze how these strategies can be applied in modern organizational settings to address conflicts within Scrum teams.
8. Assign someone to study the 2020 article in Organizational Dynamics on the long-term implications of addressing conflicts in team culture, and develop a plan to integrate conflict resolution processes into the broader fabric of Scrum team culture, focusing on efficacy, adaptability, and resilience.
Note: The specific individuals to be assigned to each action item will depend on the team’s composition and areas of expertise.
