Conflict Avoidance is Dishonesty

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Most of us are familiar with situations where people are unwilling or afraid to present unpleasant truths. In many cases, who can blame them? The unspoken rule in all too many companies is: We don’t want to see anything negative, even if it is true; we like our rose-colored glasses. Ignoring facts, e

avoidance of the tough issues, what psychologists call conflict-aversion, only makes things worse.

All too often, teams in business tend to spend their time fighting for turf, avoiding anything that will make them look bad personally, and pretending that everyone is behind the team’s collective strategy—maintaining the appearance of a cohesive team. To keep up the image, they seek to squelch disagreement; people with serious reservations avoid s