Here's a sales leadership truth that might surprise you: not all conflict is bad. In fact, some conflict is essential for high-performing sales teams.
The key is knowing which type of conflict you're witnessing - and which one to encourage versus shut down immediately.
Engagement Message
When you hear your sales reps disagreeing about strategy, what's your first instinct?
There are two fundamentally different types of conflict: Task Conflict and Relationship Conflict.
Task conflict focuses on deals, strategies, and sales approaches. "I think we should focus on enterprise prospects this quarter, not SMB, because the deal sizes justify the longer cycle."
Engagement Message
This is productive disagreement about the sales work itself. Sound familiar?
Relationship conflict is personal. It attacks competence, character, or motives. "You always chase unrealistic deals because you don't understand what actually closes."
Engagement Message
Same disagreement, but now it's about the person, not the sales strategy. Feel the difference?
Task conflict is actually healthy for sales teams. When reps challenge strategies respectfully, you get better territory coverage, stronger deal qualification, and more effective approaches.
Sales teams need to debate different tactics to find what works best in their market and reach peak performance.
Engagement Message
Have you seen your team close bigger deals after healthy strategy debates?
Relationship conflict, however, is toxic. It destroys trust, creates lasting resentment, and makes reps avoid collaborating on deals.
People stop sharing leads or best practices because they fear personal attacks. The team becomes territorial and overall sales performance suffers dramatically.
Engagement Message
