How to Have Better Fights in Self-Organized Environments
transform together – the podcast meetup about organizational developmentShow Notes
Self-organization sounds promising. Until disagreement gets uncomfortable, conflict disappears underground and everyone starts wishing someone would just make a decision.
In this episode of transform together, Johannes Schartau talks with Richard D. Bartlett about how to have better fights: conflicts that bring important differences into the open without destroying trust or relationships.
Richard explains why psychological safety should not mean avoiding disagreement. It should give people enough confidence to be honest, notice anger before it takes over and say what they are trying to protect. When differences can be expressed with both courage and curiosity, conflict becomes a source of collective intelligence, creative tension and better decisions.
Together, they explore how Fight Wise helps habitual conflict avoiders practise assertiveness, how to surface unspoken tensions in groups and why temporary leadership can help self-organized teams move forward. They also discuss authority baggage, developmental “speed wobbles” and the growing temptation to replace difficult human interactions with agreeable AI assistants.
A conversation about disagreeing more skilfully and why healthy collaboration may require us to get a little better at fighting.
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