Conflicts happen, let’s resolve them
Due to the inherent nature of being passionate about what we do, paired with remote work that is primarily communicated by text, conflicts can be common.
The vast majority of times these conflicts are simple misunderstandings due to lack of face-to-face communication, body language, etc.
When these conflicts happen it’s essential to recognize they are seldom, if ever personal. Rather they’re typically misunderstandings that’re easily resolved by changing the conversation medium.
The vast majority of the time this simple call is all it takes to resolve the conflict.
Should you find yourself in a disagreement with a fellow crew member, never assume malice and instead jump on a video call to talk it through.
Agree to disagree, but commit
We often will have different opinions how to best solve a problem or task at hand, and that’s okay. It’s not necessary that we always agree on everything we do, but it’s vital that we agree to commit to which ever solution is decided on.
In the words of Jeff Bezos:
…use the phrase “disagree and commit.” This phrase will save a lot of time. If you have conviction on a particular direction even though there’s no consensus, it’s helpful to say, “Look, I know we disagree on this but will you gamble with me on it? Disagree and commit?” By the time you’re at this point, no one can know the answer for sure, and you’ll probably get a quick yes.
There will be plenty of times each of us will be absolutely convinced of one solution or another, only to find out we were wrong. Or that we were right. The important part is that we all believe in each of our commitments, and overall goals of helping the team succeed.