Why do we adhere to the status quo?
For one, it’s the easiest way to bypass decision-making (and, as humans, we have a notoriously bad track record as decision-makers, in lab settings and in the real world). When faced with the unknown and status quo, we would almost always rather pick the latter. And why not? The status quo has a proven track record: it’s consistently safe and non-disruptive. Being a cog in the machine following a routine doesn’t sound too bad when things are running smoothly.
What about when things aren’t running smoothly? In a business sense, adhering to a status quo under those circumstances can be detrimental to not only the people within a company but to those who supposedly benefit from their product. In conditions like these, it makes sense to break free from the status quo.
But, typically, the status quo won’t go down without a fight. Conflict is inevitable, especially when routine is at stake. But what if conflict didn’t have to be confrontational or even a bad thing?
Enter “healthy conflict,” the idea that disagreement can lead to growth. Through respectful debate, people can voice opinions in a forum where judgment isn’t passed and, ultimately, the best idea wins.
“In any high-growth tech environment, healthy conflict is a natural part of challenging the status quo,” Markforged Head of Program Management Jason Meers said. At the 3D printing company, healthy conflict helped the company widen its application from just a prototyping tool to something used on a much broader scale.
Below, Meers explained to Built In Boston how healthy conflict plays a part in his team, the conditions that need to exist for healthy conflict to be carried out and how it’s benefited the company.
First, what does healthy conflict look like on your team?
In any high-growth tech environment, healthy conflict is essential as a natural part of challenging the status quo. Specifically within program management, a key frequent challenge or debate is around timelines and how to accelerate delivery, whether it’s a new product or a corporate initiative. These healthy conversations allow for the program team and wider group to share thoughts and ideas from multiple perspectives and oftentimes leads to new methods or ways to complete tasks or projects in far shorter time than previously thought possible.
There isn’t a day where productive discussions around proposals, decisions or plans doesn’t lead to a net positive outcome.”
How has your team, company culture or product benefited from healthy conflict?
There isn’t a day where “healthy conflict” or productive discussions around proposals, decisions or plans doesn’t lead to a net positive outcome here at Markforged. Too often companies fall into the trap of “this is how it’s always been done,” where defaulting to tradition stifles innovation as well as limits the diversity of ideas.
One specific area of note here is in our new product development and introductions. Markforged’s printers break the mold of traditional thought around 3D printers being applicable for prototyping or concepts only; this came to be through healthy conflict, specifically from our product and engineering teams challenging the traditional market fits and “typical sales play” within 3D printing and additive manufacturing. This has led Markforged to establish itself as an industrial tool platform and not just prototype machines.
What have you done to create a culture where healthy conflict can occur? And perhaps more importantly, what have you done to ensure debates remain respectful and constructive?
Healthy conflict here at Markforged is more accurately portrayed that everyone has a voice and that voice is both encouraged and heard here across the business. Our core values — specifically “we win as one team” — encourage healthy conflict as we remain respectful. Maintaining key tenets within the one team core value of “we proactively collaborate,” “we assume positive intent,” and “we leave ego at the door” truly embody what it means to have healthy conflict and something we look for within every new hire on our team. As a result, we have built teams that embody healthy conflict organically and truly understand the value of the challenge of ideas and the innovation it leads to.
