Shifting Perspective: Task Conflict as Energy, Not Drama

A recent coaching session helped a leader explore their perception and response to conflict. I am referring here to a task-based conflict, which is a disagreement about ideas, strategies, or decisions. Not a relational conflict that can lead to tension and animosity in the workplace.

For this leader, conflict began to arise as their start-up business expanded, and departments and teams formed to manage the growing complexity of operating at scale.

When people disagree, leaders can find themselves assuming teams are off track or asking why the culture has changed. People are often perceived as the problem. However, disagreement is usually a sign that the system is functioning correctly.

When people occupy different roles, with varying goals, pressures, and responsibilities, it is, of course, natural for them to see things differently. That’s not dysfunction — that’s the point.

That’s a well-constructed system doing its work.

A product lead, a finance lead, an engineer, a marketer… they’re each holding a different piece of the puzzle. Naturally, their perspectives won’t line up neatly.

That’s where task-based conflict, or the friction that emerges from competing goals, comes from. And that friction creates heat in the system. But the heat isn’t the problem — it’s the energy source for better products, services and ideas.

When leaders stop treating conflict as something to “fix” and instead get curious about what each perspective is trying to protect or advance, the whole dynamic shifts. The heat turns into energy, the energy turns into movement, and progress comes from precisely the place people were trying to avoid. So instead of thinking “We’re disagreeing, something’s wrong,” try “We’re disagreeing, good — now we’re getting to the real work.”

The goal isn’t to eliminate friction. It’s to use it.