How I Unlearned One of the Biggest Leadership Myths

Hey Leaders!

I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest leadership myths out there? Avoiding conflict.

Keep the peace. Keep everyone happy. Don’t stir the pot. I bought into it for years, thinking I was doing the right thing, creating harmony, building strong teams, and steering clear of unnecessary drama.

But here’s the truth I had to face, avoiding conflict wasn’t protecting my team. It was holding them back. The more I tried to keep things smooth, the more I realized we were stuck. No innovation. No real conversations. Just a whole lot of playing it safe.

Great teams don’t avoid conflict. They know how to use it.

The Moment Everything Shifted

There was a project years ago that seemed to be running like clockwork. No disagreements, no drama, just smooth sailing. But deep down, something felt… off. The ideas were too safe. The conversations too easy.

Then? The project collapsed.

In the aftermath, I asked my team what went wrong. Finally, someone admitted, “I saw some issues early on, but I didn’t want to make waves.”

That hit me hard. My team thought keeping the peace mattered more than speaking up…

Why Conflict Isn’t the Enemy

Here’s what I’ve learned since: Conflict isn’t the problem—how you handle it is…