We can all agree – a good workout produces what many claim – a good soreness . When you reach the point where your muscles have been taxed and are sore, you know you have stretched yourself and will improve and grow from the experience. Your mind and body may be in conflict. When your mind pushes you past your body’s capabilities, you are moving through conflict.

The same goes for a healthy conflict in business. Conflict is not wrong. Conflict is necessary to achieve success.

Many of us try to avoid conflict like we try to avoid over-exerting ourselves physically. The result, little to no growth and improvement .

Examples of conflict are unhappy customers or clients, underperforming employees, slow sales, stressful product launches, etc. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

As a leader and a manager, a primary responsibility becomes navigating conflict.

Avoiding conflict causes a company to slow down or worse, decline.

As we lead in our businesses, communities, families and relationships, we should expect healthy conflict. This results in progress. When you work to get through it together, everyone grows.

Going through conflict does not “green-light” an over-emotional response or behavior. The intention is to sort through to a better solution, not act in a harmful manner.

One way to keep your emotions and others in check; affirm the other individuals. Make sure they understand that you care about them and it’s so important to you to address the current conflict. This eliminates feelings of threat and replaces with feelings of respect.

Your goal when working through conflict is NOT to always be right, but instead make progress. Practice NOT holding on to your idea SO tightly that you cannot see the value in the conflict.

This is not an easy task. Many of us would prefer to avoid conflict at all costs.

Ask yourself these questions:

Where does avoiding conflict ultimately improve my life or business?

What am I missing by not addressing the conflict?

By avoiding conflict, how am I improving the relationships that matter to me most?

Don’t create conflict just for the purpose of conflict.

Set your intention on resolving a problem.

Celebrate the win of resolution.

Engaging in conflict when needed will make you a more respected leader and better communicator.

Is there a conflict that you dreaded facing, but it turned out to be a huge moment for growth? What tools worked best for you in approaching and finding a resolution to your conflict?