Field Notes

To avoid conflict and to coexist in relative peace, some teams operate in a false harmony. 

On these teams, getting along matters much more than reaching the best decision or talking through issues. 

In meetings, team members engage in surface-level agreement, skipping past candid discussion and debate on nearly every issue. They suppress conflict and disagreement through self-censorship. 

In many cases, team members go as far as to metaphorically staple their lips shut and rarely say a word on real issues and decisions. The less said on substantive issues, the better. 

They instead focus their attention on trivial matters, engaging in light banter where no one can get upset or take issue. 

Beneath the surface of this false harmony, team members often harbor underlying tensions, unresolved disputes, and genuine disagreements. 

In meetings, they nod and agree to decisions. However, under the table, out of sight, their fingers are crossed. Sometimes their toes are too. 

Any hidden resentments toward each other or the team leader remain unspoken. Everyone seems to get along and appear committed to collaboration. 

But the reality is that the desire for harmony replaces the need for excellence. 

Leaders naturally prefer a team that gets along, so they can miss the signs that a false harmony exists. In some cases, they can even empower it by dodging disagreement and avoiding anything controversial themselves. 

Whether the leader is aware or not, the implications are the same. False harmony produces passive-aggressive behavior across the team. 

Team members agree and cooperate in meetings only to bad-mouth the leader, the decisions, and each other privately later. 

When team members only talk about what they really think away from the team table, the back channel is full of noise and derision. Team morale plummets. The ability to reach quality decisions and execute them falls to near zero. 

There are a variety of reasons team members might promote a false harmony. In addition to avoiding conflict, teams will engage falsely to negate an abusive leader, to focus on short-term unity, to cover up poor work quality, and to disguise a low work ethic. 

In rare instances, a team might engage falsely because it has become the norm across the entire organization to behave in this manner. 

Leaders who recognize that false harmony exists must establish new norms as to how the team interacts and makes decisions together. 

Asking team members to outline their views on issues and topics and share them prior to group discussions is a step toward encouraging a more open and transparent conversation. 

Outlawing passive-aggressive behavior is also essential. Leaders must confront those who engage in it.

False harmony destroys a team’s ability to operate effectively. Agreement on a team is a plus until it becomes superficial. Then it is a curse.