How to manage conflicting personalities

MANAGING a team with clashing personalities can be one of the toughest challenges for any leader — but it is entirely possible to navigate interpersonal conflict and build cohesion among team members with different points of view.

- LENA MCDEARMID, AMIE DEVERO, TYLER BUTLER

As experts in team management and organisational psychology, we've identified the following proven methods for fostering collaboration and productivity in a group with differing personalities:

Create ritual

Conflict is not a red flag. In healthy, high-performing teams, it is a sign that people are engaged and care about the outcome. The real challenge is not avoiding conflict - it’s knowing how to move through it without damaging trust.

One of the most effective approaches is teaching leaders how to create ritual and “name the storm” instead of resorting to more meetings or surface-level check-ins.

Ritual, in this case, means building a steady and predictable space on the calendar where teams can name what is working, what is hard and what they need from each other. These moments become an outlet; a way to lower the pressure before it turns into resentment. They also create psychological safety and permission to tell the truth.

Name the storm

But ritual alone is not enough. Leaders also have to name the storm when it hits. That means calling out what is being felt, even if it is uncomfortable. If tension is building — say it. If something feels off — bring it forward. People do not need every answer, but they do need honesty, presence and leadership that doesn’t avoid the hard parts.