Company Culture

Unlocking Your Team’s Full Potential: Healthy Conflict

September 23, 2024 by Daniel Gilbert

Here is an uncomfortable truth: Conflict is inevitable in any team unit. Take a family for instance. No matter how happy and harmonious a family is, conflict is bound to happen. Why? Because when decisions affect multiple people – whether they are key parenting decisions or figuring out what’s for dinner – we simply do not always agree.

We should expect disagreements. Too often, these turn into arguments and fighting. But the truth is, there is a better way.

By approaching conflict in a healthy way, we not only avoid ugly spats with hurt feelings, we also can make better decisions and grow stronger as a team. Mastering healthy conflict on a team at work is not easy, but it is well worth it. Let’s talk about how to approach conflict by first discussing what happens when teams avoid conflict.

What Happens When We Avoid Conflict?

Because conflict can be unpleasant, the natural urge is often to avoid it altogether. The problem with this tendency is simple: Even though avoiding conflict may keep us inside our comfort zone, the underlying disagreement is still festering there. When conflict is not addressed in a healthy manner, one of three things is likely to happen:

The issue lies dormant for a while and comes back up later, in which case the conflict is simply delayed.
The issue lies dormant forever and is never revisited. When this happens – especially when it occurs repeatedly and over a long period of time – the people involved may grow bitter with each other and their teamwork decays.
One person surrenders to the other position simply to move past the issue without conflict. Of course, we should always be open to changing our minds if there is sound reason. But if a team chooses the easy way out and forgoes discussion, they may fail to find their way to the best possible resolution.

In any of these situations, working through the conflict would have been better for the team’s cohesion.

Healthy Conflict Starts with Trust

When conflict happens within a team that lacks trust, people are left feeling angry and hurt. People often have strong opinions and passion. When things get “heated”, it feels more like team members are attacking each other.

Does this mean we should avoid strong opinions and passion? Absolutely not. Particularly when the stakes are high, the best decision depends on the opinions and passion of everyone on the team.

While having healthy conflict on a team is not easy to achieve, the path to get there is quite simple. A high-functioning team depends on trust between members.

On the surface, this may sound like the need to honor commitments and expect that our teammates will do what they say they are going to do. This is dependability, which is a kind of trust that is certainly important in a team – but not the kind of trust that conflict requires to work through.

What matters more in healthy conflict is vulnerability-based trust, the mutual understanding and belief that all members of the team truly respect each other and care most about what’s best for the team.

Another key difference is that a trusting team attacks the problem, not each other. If the team lacks vulnerability-based trust and its leader does not put it front-and-center, conflict is a dangerous territory to enter. At the risk of contradicting the earlier point of the importance of embracing conflict, if trust doesn’t exist on the team, don’t embrace conflict – yet. Building trust must be the first priority.

Practical Conflict Resolution

Once a team has enough trust among its members to start facing conflict with one another, it is helpful to have some tools in your belt to assist.

Simple methods of comparison like pros and cons charts and Venn-diagrams can be used to see two or more ideas side-by-side. These exercises can help fully explore the problem and its possible solutions. They can turn a conflict into a magnificent collaborative moment for a team.

Another approach to conflict is to role-play arguing the other person’s position. Done well, this can force each person to invest a piece of their mind in that opposing argument. Hopefully, each member finds some perspective they wouldn’t understand if they stayed in their own shoes.

Mediators can also be effective by helping to translate messages and make room for everyone’s voice in a conflict, even as a tiebreaker. One-way mediators should certainly not be used as a substitute for trust.

Conclusion

In his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie wrote, “When two partners always agree, one of them is not necessary.” The point is, conflict and disagreements are not just inevitable. They are evident on a team with fully-rounded perspectives.

Conflict is certainly a tightrope walk. We should approach conflict with extreme care, otherwise it can frustrate and offend people. But when a team with mutual trust amongst all members approaches conflict, they can truly unlock the greater sum of its parts and tackle issues with a higher level of impact than before.

Interested in more team building and business strategy insights? Read through some of Daniel’s other blogs:

Daniel Gilbert

Chief Operating Officer
Kite Technology Group

The Art of Acknowledgment: Crafting a Culture of Recognition at Work

August 26, 2024 by Daniel Gilbert

When I was in college, I was a line cook in the kitchen of an east-coast restaurant chain for a year where I met Cody. I noticed quickly how everyone loved Cody and listened to what he said. At first, I thought he was a manager. When I learned that he was “just another line cook”, I couldn’t wrap my head around why people around him just seemed to listen to him and see things his way. What was his superpower?

When I worked alongside him for the first time, it finally clicked. During that shift, he must have told me “good job” at least ten times. Being a rookie, I am sure he had plenty to correct me on as well, and I am sure it made me a better line cook. But that’s not what I remember about my interactions with Cody. I only remember how much I respected him and wanted to give him what he asked for.

Cody’s superpower was the power of recognition. When recognition happens on a team, the effect is intoxicating and immensely motivating.

Why Is Recognition Valuable?

As draining as the work itself can be, how much more does it sting if, after the work is done, no one seems to notice? Hearing your work affirmed, and especially hearing how people have benefitted from it, is an intrinsic motivator. For many people, intrinsic motivators are way more powerful motivators than money. It is proof that their hard work made an important difference. And for people who crave the feeling of importance, recognition can fulfill that craving.

There is another, perhaps more tangible reason that we should give recognition on a team: Recognition provides and supports a clear vision of what good work looks like. When I was working in the kitchen, I made a Cowboy Burger and Cory told me “Good job, that is a perfect medium-rare and the presentation is exactly right.” Sure, it felt good. But more than that, I took a mental snapshot of that Cowboy Burger, and it provided me a blueprint for how to do a good job again in the future.

Who Gives Recognition?

I’ll start with what may be obvious: A crucial part of a leader’s job is to give recognition to those in his or her charge. I’ve had bosses who gave recognition and those who didn’t – and I certainly felt more fueled by the ones who did (I probably did better work for them, too).

The leader sets the example for the rest of the team, so when the leader tells someone “good job”, the other members of the team notice and learn from it as well.

But recognition from the top is not the only form of recognition. I would actually argue that peer-to-peer recognition is even more important. Even for the best leader, there is only so much time in the day. The bigger the team, the less likely any leader is to be able to single-handedly give proper recognition to everyone.

Recognition can’t come only from the top-down; it must also be given among peers. For all the joy that comes from doing a good job for your boss, it can be even more motivating to do a good job for those next to you. More than just giving recognition, a good leader should create a culture of recognition that the team members bring to life.

How Can You Achieve a Culture of Recognition?

The easiest way to get started, which I have already mentioned, is for the leader of the team to get in the habit of giving recognition. It can be contagious, so I think this step alone can make a huge difference.

With the leader living out a culture of recognition, the next step would be to get the team involved – but how? I think the answer to how best to promote this behavior is the same as promoting any kind of behavior: recognize it. That’s right, recognize recognition. Tell your team how important you think it is to see them recognizing each other’s hard work. Then, whenever you see it, call it out. Make it the “cool” thing to do. It will catch on, and when it does, it will embed itself into the culture to stay.

From a practical sense, there are also many tools and platforms out there designed to enable and promote employees giving each other recognition. At KiteTech, we use a platform called Bonusly.

Why Do We Love Bonusly?

Bonusly is an online platform we at KiteTech use to allow our team members to give recognition to one another. It acts like a social media platform in that users can create posts, tag each other, and add hashtags and multimedia for some extra fun. Then, these posts create notifications and end up in a news feed where the entire company can see them.

When you notice your teammates doing something worthy of recognition, you create a post and tag them. You also specify a number of points to send to them. Each person’s allotment of points refills at the beginning of each month, and everyone is encouraged to give out all their points to teammates each month. Then, the points given to you by teammates can be redeemed for gift cards and store credits to hundreds of different stores, including Amazon and the Apple store.

A few aspects of Bonusly stand out to me as demonstrating key characteristics of any good recognition platform.

It's Fun.

The posts can be customized and include Emojis and GIFs. You can shout out your entire team, share an inside joke, and include hyperlinks to fun articles or websites. Our team loves Bonusly for the same reason that many people love social media: They have fun when they’re on it.

It’s Valuable.

Money can only motivate people so far, but doing work worthy of recognition is extra rewarding when a tangible reward accompanies it. It is also nice for the giver, when it feels like “Thank you” just isn’t quite enough.

It’s Public.

Not everyone likes their name up in lights, and giving recognition does not need to translate to feeding big egos. But the fact that recognition posts are public to the whole company means that everyone can share in their teammates’ success stories. This further perpetuates a culture of recognition.

It's Easy.

Giving recognition on Bonusly is as easy as writing a social media post. It even integrates with tools like Microsoft Teams. It also has a mobile app, so it is easy for everyone to give recognition. If you want your team to be in the habit of giving recognition, it helps if it’s easy.

Conclusion

The act of giving recognition is simple, but it doesn’t always happen on its own – even if it seems like it should. If you want your company culture to be rich with recognition, you need to be intentional about building it into how your company works on a daily basis. Giving recognition doesn’t need to be big, but it does need to be consistent. So don’t worry too much about doing it right, and just worry about doing it. All it took for my line cook mentor, Cody, was two simple words on a consistent basis to somehow make me want to be the best line cook I could possibly be.

At KiteTech, we are passionate about recognizing our teammates’ accomplishments. By doing so, we strengthen our internal team dynamics and performance, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction.

Interested in more team building and business strategy insights? Read through some of Daniel’s other blogs:

Daniel Gilbert

Chief Operating Officer
Kite Technology Group

Strategies for Maintaining a Healthy Culture in a Remote World

June 7, 2022 by Andrew DiDio Leave a Comment

As the Controller at KiteTech, one of my roles is to oversee all HR functions including interviewing potential job candidates. Honestly, the interviews are just as much for me as they are for the prospective employees. As a recent interview was concluding I jokingly apologized for all of my pointed questions and offered to answer his questions. The applicant looked me in the eye from across the screen and asked a question that I have been asked often…”Andrew, what is your favorite part of working at KiteTech?”

I smiled. As much as I was interviewing to see if he would be a good fit at Kite, he had begun interviewing me on why he should want to work here.

My answer was simple. Our culture is focused on relationships, and we go to great lengths to ensure our employees are well-connected.

When everyone went home two years ago, a topic that frequently came up in our leadership meetings was “How do we ensure our employees feel connected with their teammates?”. We heard from some peers that their employees were not doing so well and were dealing with the consequences of extreme loneliness. We wanted to make sure our employees did not feel isolated, alone on the proverbial “remote work island.” As we brainstormed how to encourage employee engagement, we realized that the only fix was through intentional strategies focused on relationships and connections. Below I share some of the strategies that we found most effective in maintaining a healthy, highly engaged culture.

Strategies for Maintaining a Healthy Culture

Engage Employees Daily

Mother Teresa once said, “Loneliness is the leprosy of the modern world.” Humans need human interaction on a daily basis or loneliness can quickly seep in. One of the best ways to ensure your team does not become a lonely and isolated team is to be intentional about engaging with employees daily.

One of our Core Values is “Embrace Teamwork.” Each employee connects daily with their teammates through daily huddles, one-on-one’s with their supervisors, and attending company-wide meetings. Whenever we attend video calls, we always keep our cameras on. We believe that face-to-face interaction throughout the day is key to having a healthy remote work experience.

Occasionally a cat will slink up and jam the keys, or a nephew will run up calling out, “Uncle Andrew!” but this has never been a burden, but instead has helped develop an even greater personal connection. Throughout each day our employees chat over Microsoft Teams to solve technical issues, highlight employee successes, and post funny comments. The office banter has merely transitioned from over cubicle walls to over computer screens. Engaging employees daily can be the difference between loneliness and success in the workplace.

Your Personal Takeaway: Make it the norm to have cameras on during every video call.

Express Employee Appreciation

Teams rise or fall based on if their members feel appreciated. Often employees leave jobs early not because they want a higher salary or a different position. What they want is recognition for a job well done. They want to feel like a valuable member of the team.

One of our favorite tools to ensure employees feel appreciated is Bonusly. Sent in the form of a public tweet and often with a meme, Bonusly encourages employees to publicly recognize their peers by sending bonus points. The points can then be redeemed for gift cards. Personally, I have laughed out loud just from visiting Bonusly. Today, I witnessed memes of dancing stick figures, a cat typing away on a computer, and of course SpongeBob!

On a serious note, as a manager, your employees need to know you value their efforts as part of your team. I often ask myself if I am being a “first-class noticer.” Am I being intentional about noticing others’ efforts, especially those not on my direct team? It is important for our teams to communicate, especially to express gratitude and appreciation for a job well done.

Your Personal Takeaway: Make it a daily habit to notice one person in your organization and show them appreciation with a thoughtful email or public encouragement. Bonus: Find someone that is outside of your direct team to thank them for their efforts!

Encourage In-Person Events

Regardless of how you interact virtually, nothing replaces the in-person connection. Giving a high five, a pat on the back, or a random comment as you pass in the hallway can be mood-defining and an encouragement to employees.

A few months after we started working remotely our employees began asking for opportunities to connect in-person. Once it was safe, we began hosting Happy Hours at local restaurants and scheduling lunches when people were in the office. Even though our employees were spread throughout the country, we wanted to encourage in-person connections. Our West Coast employees occasionally meet up for dinners and hikes and we even hosted our “KiteTech West” employees in Maryland this past March!

Your Personal Takeway: Schedule a Happy Hour with your local employees. If you are feeling extra generous, pick up the tab!

Embrace Mutual Interests

Relationships strengthen when people are able to relate on a personal level and connect outside of the work atmosphere. Though an employer cannot force employees to be interested in similar hobbies, it is important for employers to know their employees’ likes and dislikes and develop opportunities to connect over these hobbies.

Many of our employees share mutual interests and KiteTech encourages employees to embrace these similarities. Our employees have started leadership book clubs with colleagues, organized faith-based small groups, scheduled video game tournaments and even a virtual art class. A night would not be complete without our employees battling over their favorite video games like Fortnite or League of Legends and tuning in to watch each other stream Slay the Spire!

Your Personal Takeaway: Ask some of your employees what they enjoy doing outside of work and schedule yourself to connect over that hobby…you might even find a new hobby yourself!

Employ Remote Culture-Building Tools

One of the keys to building a healthy remote office culture is through being creative with the remote tools that are available. Though employees may not be able to interact in-person, especially for offices like ours that are spread throughout the country, it is important to employ culture-building tools that are suitable for a remote workforce.

A few years ago, KiteTech leaders put together a Fun Committee to be in charge of planning different fun events. Made up of members from different departments, the Fun Committee has led the charge in ensuring our employees are connecting through monthly online events. Some tools that our team has used include virtual movie platforms to allow our employees to remotely watch a movie together and virtual escape rooms. Thankfully, we have always escaped! We also have hosted holiday parties and monthly birthday celebrations over Teams to ensure our employees are connecting regardless of their location.

Your Personal Takeaway: Plan a virtual hangout by watching a movie together, trying an escape room, or laughing hysterically while playing an online game (Jackbox Games are my favorites!).

Conclusion

Maintaining a thriving work culture in a remote or hybrid world can feel daunting. I would love to tell you that every event and tool has been a success, but it has taken some trial and error to learn what works best for our team. It’s important to stay intentional about trying new initiatives to keep your staff engaged and your culture healthy. I hope that the strategies shared in this article provided you with some fresh ideas for your business, and if you choose to implement one or more of our takeaways, we would love to hear about it in the comments.

Andrew DiDio

Controller
Kite Technology Group

Be Ready for Takeoff: Identifying Your Core Values

December 9, 2020 by Andrew DiDio Leave a Comment

I never understood the routine and instincts required for flying until I hopped on a charter flight from Dallas to Colorado Springs. Buckling into my seat, I was ready, but the pilot was inspecting every crevice of the plane, running his hand along the wings, securing the hatch, and fine-tuning the vast array of switches and dials on the dash. Before takeoff he even strapped a manual to his thigh to remember the subtle checks. Once in the air he told me about the thousands of hours he flew from client sites to conferences to Mt. Rushmore for a daytrip with his grandson. He detailed events that might happen in the air and how he would respond. His checklist never moved from his thigh as he notated numbers from the gauges on the dashboard. Flying seemed so simple, but as we flew over the gritty landscape of northern Texas, I realized that flying demanded routine.

Like the pilot checking and re-checking his flight plan, “world-class” companies have a plan and routine for success. When we focus on certain fundamental routines, our culture embodies those routines, making them habitual. Company issues seem less daunting when the team can point to the dashboard gauge that screams “low altitude, your culture is crashing!”

The KiteTech Flight Plan is our blinking emergency light. This list of the 26 most important principles indicates where we are losing cabin pressure and our culture is failing. Company problems can be traced to failing at the Flight Plan. So, if there are issues with clients, employees, or the trajectory of the company we review the Flight Plan… and then check again.

Our 7 core Flight Plan principles, the Flight Fundamentals, are our “thigh checklist.” We believe that these are the core principles of any successful company and for KiteTech, these are the “must-haves.” Chick-fil-A president, Dan Kathy, once said, “repetition yields constants. Constants create cultures.”

The Flight Fundamentals below have become routine and drive how we hire, fire, promote, and grow our company culture.

1. Deliver Extraordinary Client Service

It is difficult to find ways to differentiate your company in a world that is ultra-connected. If your company fails at keeping a client, there are thousands of others about to swoop in for a chance to “woo” your clients unless…unless your company creates a client experience leaving a client wanting more. Excellence is the bottom-line. Our clients know that we will do what is best for them, regardless of the cost. Excellence is costly. It may cost you staying late one night to fix a server issue or provide a hard drive free of charge, but excellence breeds relationship. When we commit to giving each client our best, our clients trust us to do our job. This loyalty has inspired our clients to promote KiteTech to other potential clients.

2. Think Like an Owner

Owners think at a high-level, constantly aware of the implications on clients, employees, and the health of the company. If a solution to a specific task may make one department’s job easier while crippling another department, our desire to see the success of the company trumps our desire to see success in our own department. Being on the same team helps us align in our vision for addressing problems inside or outside our organization.

3. Always Ask “Why?”

Regardless of organizational position, the most solid ideas will always be part of the solution. Our employees constantly push us to improve processes that have gone unnoticed. If processes are illogical, we encourage our employees to speak up and ask “why?” Employees are on the frontlines and have a different view as to the success of a process than does a leader.

4. Honor Commitments

Every relationship is built on trust. If a client or colleague has trouble trusting your ability to follow through, then the whole company is affected. Clients become impatient, colleagues waste time sending follow-up emails, and there are even negative financial implications. It is imperative that we are in communication about timelines, backlogs, and unforeseen delays. When we refuse to communicate, we erode trust. When we honor commitments and communicate when unable to fulfill our timeline, our clients and teammates feel appreciated and valued.

5. Embrace the Tension Between Confidence and Humility

The goal of the company is to get better, not satisfy your personal ego. Think about ideas detached from the promoter of the idea. You might be biased towards one of your ideas or against one of your enemy’s ideas, but ideas once stated are free from being tied to an individual and can be discussed openly having checked your ego at the door. You can have confidence that you are talented enough to complete your job but reject the urge to allow confidence to morph into arrogance. Humility is a catalyst for teamwork, a required trait of all growing companies.

6. Relentlessly Solve Problems

The target of fixing any problem is a solution and falling short of a solution causes client concern. Our clients trust us to solve their technical problems. If unable, the client-company partnership is fractured. Employees at KiteTech are required to point to a potential solution whenever pointing out problems. Sometimes this requires creative thinking or asking for additional help when necessary. We have become solution-based, refusing to quit on a problem until we have a solution that is optimal for the client and for KiteTech.

7. Project Positivity

Only one person has control over your attitude…you! A negative attitude never led to solutions. When our employees have a positive attitude, even if they are facing a challenging problem, they still can trust that their colleagues/teammates are cheering them on. Choosing positivity orients our minds towards optimism and teamwork rather than pessimism and lonesomeness. We can have confidence in our ability and that of our company and teammates. At KiteTech, no problem that we face is solved alone.

We are now pulling away from the gate, but before you take off, think about the routines that you have created. Do your core principles align with your culture? Are these core principles routine? Are you creating the company culture that you want to embody? Do your employees make decisions based on these principles? If the answer to these questions is a resounding “yes,” then well done, you are well on your way! If the answer is “no,” then I want to encourage you to set aside time with your leadership team to intentionally identify your Flight Plan. If you need inspiration, check out the KiteTech Flight Plan. Remember, to make your Flight Plan routine you will need to go through much fine-tuning, inspections, and checks…and re-checks.

Don’t let the fear of falling keep you from flying.

What Happens When We Avoid Conflict?

Healthy Conflict Starts with Trust

Practical Conflict Resolution

Conclusion

Daniel Gilbert

Why Is Recognition Valuable?

Who Gives Recognition?

How Can You Achieve a Culture of Recognition?

Why Do We Love Bonusly?

It's Fun.

It’s Valuable.

It’s Public.

It's Easy.

Conclusion

Daniel Gilbert

Strategies for Maintaining a Healthy Culture

Engage Employees Daily

Express Employee Appreciation

Encourage In-Person Events

Embrace Mutual Interests

Employ Remote Culture-Building Tools

Conclusion

Andrew DiDio

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