{"id":12830,"date":"2018-04-07T02:40:46","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T09:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/?p=12830"},"modified":"2024-07-02T12:04:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T12:04:01","slug":"constructive-discontent-competitive-advantage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/constructive-discontent-competitive-advantage\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Constructive Discontent Is the Ultimate Competitive Advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"That is the worst thing that can happen to a company,\"<\/span><\/i> said Wisse Dekker. \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He's the former president of Dutch electronics company, <\/span>Philips.<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1990, he resigned after the company barely earned $3 million dollars in their first quarter. This was horrendous compared to the $130 million earned\u00a0in the previous year. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dekker confessed that not only were they suffering from a financial crisis, but also a <\/span>\"crisis of confidence.\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Desperate, Philips hired Jan Timmer as new CEO. \u00a0Timmer saw the dire situation and planned to take on the challenge head-on, with a key tactic of constructive discontent. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"constructive<\/p>\n

A plan to turn things around<\/b><\/h3>\n

Timmer gathered the company's top 100 managers and shared with them a harsh truth:\u00a0<\/span>bankruptcy was a possibility.<\/b> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Philips was in last place. Consumers didn't care about their products. And, workers were disengaged. <\/span>He knew that if employees failed to change how they communicated, Philips's end was near. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, Timmer created an initiative called <\/span>Operation Centurion.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

He organized \"town meetings\" where employees of all ranks, products, and departments discussed plans to improve product quality and consumer experiences.\u00a0<\/span>In the meetings, disagreements were encouraged. Every voice was to be heard with equal attention. Senior management could be challenged without punishment. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the book, <\/span>Maximum Leadership<\/span><\/a>, \u00a0Timmer explained how these discussions shifted the workplace:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The relationships are different now. If you sit...through sometimes very emotional discussions on very difficult issues, then you get to know each other, you get to respect each other<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Timmer's initiative turned around their low employee engagement and boosted productivity. And it showed on their bottom line: In the mid-1990's, Philips reported $34 billion in sales and $1.1 billion in net earnings. Quite a turnaround from $3 million by his predecessor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Timmer credited these improved relationships among staff for the turnaround: <\/span><\/p>\n

\"I can tell you whether that factory works or not; I can tell it from the body language of the employees and the way the people react to the foreman and the answers people give to him and the managers, and how unafraid they are. And I can walk out without looking at the figures, and I can tell you if that factory makes money or not.\"<\/strong><\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"constructive<\/p>\n

The Power of Constructive Discontent to Help Your Business Thrive<\/b><\/h1>\n

The book, <\/span>Shaping Business Leaders<\/span><\/a>, defines constructive discontent as the act of staying focused and open while facing disagreements and criticism. Put simply, it's the art of embracing healthy conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

Timmer thrived as CEO of Phillips, because he created a culture of constructive discontent.<\/b><\/p>\n

Contrary to popular belief, disagreement isn't always a bad thing. It's essential to creative problem-solving. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his book, <\/span>The Fifth Discipline<\/span><\/a>, MIT's Peter Serge argues that the best teams embrace disagreements: <\/span><\/p>\n

\"In great teams, conflict becomes productive<\/strong>. The free flow of conflicting ideas is critical for creative thinking, for discovering new solutions no one individual would have come to on his own.\"<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As humans, we're capable of great things. But, we do have limitations. What you lack in knowledge or skill, can be compensated, and complimented, by your co-worker's perspective. <\/span><\/p>\n

However,<\/span> constructive discontent isn't easy.\u00a0 Today, we take a look at how to build it at your company, and the benefits you'll experience if you do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"constructive<\/p>\n

1) Learn to embrace discomfort<\/b><\/h2>\n

Timmer acknowledged that many managers sacrificed their ego to attend town meetings: <\/span><\/p>\n

\"We really began to get the best out of our people. Managers began to listen to the shop floor, where there is so much knowledge. <\/span><\/i>It took the managers deflating themselves a little - deflating their importance\u00a0<\/i><\/b>- but it had to be done.\"<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But, many executives weren't as open, so\u00a0<\/span>Timmer fired them.<\/span><\/a> By the mid-90's, he had to hire outside managers to fulfill many of their key positions. This left only 4 members of the original senior-management committee. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Get on the bus\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n

As Jim Collins, author of Good to Great<\/a>, writes, one of the first things you have to do as a leader is <\/span>get\u00a0your people on board<\/span><\/a> for your goals and ideas:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus).\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a leader trying to embrace <\/span>constructive discontent, <\/b>you're going to get a lot of push-back. Not only from your employees, but from yourself. \u00a0Embrace the challenge, and understand why it happens. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, your brain and workplace environment has trained you and your team members to avoid disagreements.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"constructive<\/p>\n

Our brains hate<\/em> conflict<\/b><\/h3>\n

Sweaty palms. Dry lips. Fast heartbeats. <\/span><\/p>\n

That's how your body reacts when experiencing conflict. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Disagreements are part of everyday life. But because they're stressful, your body tends to react as if it's in danger. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your adrenal glands start to <\/span>produce hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.<\/span><\/a> This causes your heart to beat faster, breathing to increase, muscles to tighten, and pupils to dilate. <\/span><\/p>\n

You feel impulsive and emotional. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is your brain preparing you for <\/span>fight or flight mode.<\/span><\/a> You\u00a0feel the urge to either confront the problem or run away from it as fast as you can. <\/span><\/p>\n

This response is normal. It's a survival mechanism allowing you to react carefully to dangerous situations.\u00a0 It kept our ancestors alive when facing danger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, your brain isn't trained to differentiate dangers. That's why some people see conflict as a near-death experience, which makes them more likely to avoid it.<\/span><\/p>\n

But there's added social pressure that causes you\u00a0to ignore disagreements, too.\u00a0Most people are afraid of being punished for speaking up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"constructive<\/p>\n

2) Acknowledge that\u00a0most people are\u00a0afraid to speak up <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Besides our brain functions, our workplace environment influences how we handle conflict. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A survey by\u00a0VitalSmarts<\/a><\/span>\u00a0showed how passive workers are when dealing with office tension. Among 1,025 employees, 72% were guilty of not speaking up when a peer didn't \"pull their weight,\" or work as hard as others. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further, almost 68% of respondents failed to address disrespect or hostility, and 57% confessed to letting their peers get away with ignoring important workplace rules and procedures. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For these employees, they felt it was more beneficial to avoid workplace disagreements than discuss them, because their environment doesn't promote open discussions. <\/span><\/p>\n

They're afraid of the financial or social consequences of challenging the status quo. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their\u00a0<\/span>silence isn't an act of defiance<\/a>,<\/span> but rather of self-preservation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is your workplace guilty of creating this feeling?<\/p>\n

Even harassment can be hard to confront.<\/h3>\n

Fast Company writer <\/span>Ruth Reader<\/span><\/a> explained her thought-process on why she didn't report sexual harassment: <\/span><\/p>\n

\"In any outcome, there's always the fear that the person you report will retaliate<\/strong> in some way...Will they spread rumors about you? Will they try and get you fired? Will they threaten you? If other co-workers find out, will they rush to your support or shun you?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Then factor in the nagging part of your psyche that says, I can handle this situation without outside help. This self-preservation mechanism forces you to second guess<\/strong> whether you're even being harassed in the first place under the assumption that if you can handle it, it must not be that bad. There is actually very little incentive to report unless the harassment is so bad you're unable to do your job<\/strong>, at which point you are more likely to look for another job rather than try to fix your current one.\"<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Concerns about reporting issues goes beyond just harassment.\u00a0The desire to preserve\u00a0your job and advance in your career can also motivate silence. <\/span><\/p>\n

These conerns fueled the attitudes of y<\/span>oung construction workers who didn't report workplace injuries<\/span><\/a> to their supervisors. <\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> Center for Construction Research and Training released a report<\/span><\/a> explaining that workers didn't report due to one of these reasons: <\/span><\/p>\n