{"id":32730,"date":"2026-09-10T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T08:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/?p=32730"},"modified":"2026-09-10T08:00:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T08:00:57","slug":"conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html","title":{"rendered":"Does arguing help teams? Yes, but only when done right"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conflict inside a team often gets treated almost like a disease to eliminate<\/strong>, something you catch, panic about, and rush to cure before it spreads. But have you ever tried to see it as a sign that people actually care about getting the outcome right, and therefore as a possibility in disguise? Julie Kratz<\/strong>, writing for Forbes in August 2026, builds her argument around the idea that the highest-performing teams are those that have learned how to handle disagreement when it arises and use those moments to improve the way they work together.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The two extremes that both fail spectacularly<\/h2>\n

Of course, we\u2019re talking about healthy disagreement here. Outright hostility, colleagues shouting, doors slamming, disagreements that cross the line\u2026 this is definitely a no-go.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Do you want to organise the perfect team-building event? Contact us!<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n

But an organisation where practically nobody addresses problems openly and confrontations are avoided entirely isn\u2019t going to get very far either, because avoiding disagreement altogether can be just as damaging as letting tensions build up unchecked.<\/p>\n

What generative conflict actually looks like<\/h2>\n

Somewhere between screaming matches and awkward silence sits what Kratz calls generative conflict<\/strong>, disagreement rooted in curiosity rather than the need to win.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In destructive conflict<\/strong>, the goal shifts towards proving who\u2019s right, sometimes attacking someone\u2019s personality directly, which can trigger defensiveness or escalate aggression. Generative conflict starts from a different place entirely, with people actually considering a colleague\u2019s viewpoint rather than simply waiting for their turn to talk.<\/p>\n

When managed properly, confrontation can bring fresh perspectives into the conversation<\/strong> <\/a>and push innovation forward much more effectively than polite agreement ever could.<\/p>\n

How leaders should actually handle it<\/h2>\n

Leaders need to address conflict early<\/strong>, before it compounds into something uglier. That starts with managing their own emotional reactions and approaching difficult conversations with directness and genuine curiosity about what’s actually happening beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Leaders shouldn’t be left to figure this out solo, but organisations need to provide training, coaching, and mediation support, sometimes even through external professionals who bring outside perspective<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Where corporate events fit into all this<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s where things get genuinely interesting for anyone organising team building activities or corporate events<\/strong><\/a>. Games and simulations give teams a chance to practise handling conflict in a safe environment, with limited real-world consequences, which is why structured challenges can be useful<\/strong><\/a> when the aim is to help people become more comfortable with disagreement.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Among the exercises Kratz suggests is a Trade-Off Matrix<\/strong>, where small groups representing different departments have to negotiate a limited shared budget while working towards deliberately different priorities. She also describes a Red Team Protocol<\/strong>, in which one group presents a project while another takes on the role of a \u201cbenevolent adversary\u201d and actively looks for potential weaknesses. In both cases, the confrontation becomes part of the exercise, giving participants a chance to question ideas without turning criticism into a personal attack.<\/p>\n

Building the Right Team Experience<\/h2>\n

Team building, taken literally, means building an actual team<\/strong><\/a>, where people can challenge each other\u2019s ideas rather than simply nodding along to avoid friction. Being a proper team also means contradicting each other occasionally and questioning strategies when they no longer fit the situation, especially when there is a goal to achieve or a deadline approaching.<\/p>\n

You see a real team when different brains and instincts come together<\/strong> and lead to a solution that nobody would have reached alone. What matters is keeping sight of what you\u2019re actually arguing about. If it\u2019s helping the team solve the challenge in front of it, conflict is working for the team, but if it\u2019s about proving who\u2019s the smartest person in the room, you\u2019ve already lost the plot entirely.<\/p>\n

Contact us to plan your next corporate event<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conflict inside a team often gets treated almost like a disease to eliminate, something you catch, panic about, and rush to cure before it spreads. But have you ever tried to see it as a sign that people actually care about getting the outcome right, and therefore as a possibility in disguise? Julie Kratz, writing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":32724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[1399,1414],"tags":[1923,2057,1970,1897],"yoast_head":"\nConflict in teams: how to turn disagreement into collaboration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Team conflict can be constructive. Disagreement can improve collaboration, while team building strengthens team dynamics.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conflict in teams: how to turn disagreement into collaboration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Team conflict can be constructive. Disagreement can improve collaboration, while team building strengthens team dynamics.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Il blog di Smart Eventi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"416\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lucia Conti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Smart eventi srl\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-smarteventi-2-1.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-smarteventi-2-1.gif\",\"width\":960,\"height\":340,\"caption\":\"Smart eventi srl\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/\",\"name\":\"Il blog di Smart Eventi\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":416},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html\",\"name\":\"Conflict in teams: how to turn disagreement into collaboration\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"Team conflict can be constructive. Disagreement can improve collaboration, while team building strengthens team dynamics.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Does arguing help teams? Yes, but only when done right\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#\/schema\/person\/e98a893b93458259ab0de67b248f0b44\"},\"headline\":\"Does arguing help teams? Yes, but only when done right\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"organizzatore di eventi\",\"organizzatore eventi\",\"organizzazione di eventi\",\"organizzazione eventi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Events\",\"Team building and incentive travel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#\/schema\/person\/e98a893b93458259ab0de67b248f0b44\",\"name\":\"Lucia Conti\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_8849-ridottac-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_8849-ridottac-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Lucia Conti\"},\"description\":\"Co-publisher at \\\"Il Mitte\\\". Co-founder at \\\"Fiore & Conti\\\" communication agency. Freelance journalist and events moderator. She lives in Berlin but travels all over the world.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/author\/lucia\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Conflict in teams: how to turn disagreement into collaboration","description":"Team conflict can be constructive. Disagreement can improve collaboration, while team building strengthens team dynamics.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Conflict in teams: how to turn disagreement into collaboration","og_description":"Team conflict can be constructive. Disagreement can improve collaboration, while team building strengthens team dynamics.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html","og_site_name":"Il blog di Smart Eventi","article_published_time":"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":416,"url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lucia Conti","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#organization","name":"Smart eventi srl","url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-smarteventi-2-1.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-smarteventi-2-1.gif","width":960,"height":340,"caption":"Smart eventi srl"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/","name":"Il blog di Smart Eventi","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg","width":800,"height":416},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#webpage","url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html","name":"Conflict in teams: how to turn disagreement into collaboration","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00","description":"Team conflict can be constructive. Disagreement can improve collaboration, while team building strengthens team dynamics.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Does arguing help teams? Yes, but only when done right"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#\/schema\/person\/e98a893b93458259ab0de67b248f0b44"},"headline":"Does arguing help teams? Yes, but only when done right","datePublished":"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-10T08:00:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#webpage"},"wordCount":642,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/SMART-EVENTI-NUOVE-IMMAGINI-14.jpg","keywords":["organizzatore di eventi","organizzatore eventi","organizzazione di eventi","organizzazione eventi"],"articleSection":["Events","Team building and incentive travel"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/conflict-in-teams-healthy-disagreement-team-building.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#\/schema\/person\/e98a893b93458259ab0de67b248f0b44","name":"Lucia Conti","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_8849-ridottac-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_8849-ridottac-150x150.jpg","caption":"Lucia Conti"},"description":"Co-publisher at \"Il Mitte\". Co-founder at \"Fiore & Conti\" communication agency. Freelance journalist and events moderator. She lives in Berlin but travels all over the world.","url":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/author\/lucia"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32730"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32730"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32734,"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32730\/revisions\/32734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.smarteventi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}