Great at Work: The Hidden Habits of Top Performers

by Morten T. Hansen

I was surprised that one of our seven practices—“fight and unite”—increased the chance of burning out. Upon reflection, I came up with a possible explanation. Vigorous debates during meetings may produce better decisions, but they can also wear you down —all that frowning and head-shaking, all those moderately raised voices, all those attacks and counterattacks. Research has shown that a good intellectual fight (what scientists call “cognitive conflict”) often accompanies interpersonal friction or “emotional conflict.”8 In a study of 612 employees working in industries like manufacturing, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and governmental defense, an increase in cognitive conflict (for example, “how often did the members of your team debate different ideas”) predicted higher levels of emotional conflict, as measured by interpersonal clashes, anger, tension, and intrateam rivalry.9 Friction between colleagues can in turn lead to burnout.