When Teams Collide
- Terry Cullen
- Oct 18
- 5 min read
🚨 The Situation Room
Welcome to a new installment of our series, The Situation Room, where we challenge you to step into the shoes of a leader facing a real-world conundrum. Leadership is not about having all the answers but about possessing the acuity to navigate complexity, balance competing priorities, and make difficult decisions under pressure.
Your challenge is to consider the situation, weigh the options, and decide: What would you do?
Setting
The story unfolds at EcoNova Labs, a fast-growing clean-tech startup headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company’s mission is bold and urgent: to develop sustainable materials that reduce waste and carbon emissions in consumer packaging.
The 40-person team works in a shared workspace that hums with caffeine, data, and purpose. Slack pings constantly; ideas fly from engineers to designers to marketers in real time. The vibe is passionate, idealistic — and sometimes combustible.
In this environment, innovation thrives — until collaboration breaks down.
Characters
Sarah Kim, 32 – Director of Product Innovation. Grounded, thoughtful, and values-driven. An Anchor and Facilitator archetype who believes empathy and structure can solve most problems.
Tariq Johnson, 27 – Lead Designer. A dreamer and disruptor. Brilliant, emotional, and allergic to the phrase “we’ve always done it this way.” The classic Visionary-Innovator.
Jordan Lee, 25 – Process Engineer. Data-driven, organized, and a perfectionist. They’re a Builder-Strategist, committed to quality and repeatability.
Amira Patel, 30 – Head of People & Culture. A Connector-Communicator who feels the pulse of the team before anyone else.
Rafael Gomez, 38 – COO. Pragmatic and decisive, an Executive-Negotiator who prizes speed and measurable results.
The Situation
EcoNova is racing to launch “PlantForm,” a compostable packaging product that could land the company its first major retail contract. The prototype deadline is three weeks away — but the R&D team has hit a wall.
Tariq believes his sleek, minimal design is revolutionary — faster to decompose, cheaper to produce, and visually stunning. Jordan argues it’s unstable and will fail safety standards. Both make strong cases, and both are right in their own ways.
The disagreement turns personal. Team meetings become tense. Emails are curt. Slack threads bristle with passive-aggressive comments. The team has begun to fracture — some siding with Tariq’s daring creativity, others with Jordan’s disciplined caution.
Productivity drops. The rest of the company notices. Investors are asking questions. And now Sarah — caught between passion and pragmatism — must decide:
How do you restore trust, preserve innovation, and get the project back on track without alienating anyone?
Company policy emphasizes collaborative resolution before escalation to HR. But time is running out — and Sarah knows inaction could cost them their biggest opportunity yet.
Potential Solutions – What Would You Do?
Option 1: Address the Conflict in Public
Confront Tariq and Jordan directly in the next team meeting. Let them air their grievances openly and find common ground in front of everyone.
Pros: Signals transparency; may reset group dynamics.
Cons: Risks humiliation or defensiveness; could deepen divides.
Archetype Lens: Executive and Communicator strengths — but lacks Cultivator care and Facilitator empathy.
Option 2: Separate Them Temporarily
Assign Tariq and Jordan to different subprojects to cool tensions while maintaining progress.
Pros: Reduces friction short-term; deadlines stay intact.
Cons: Avoids the real issue; weakens collaboration culture.
Archetype Lens: Strategist’s efficiency, but not the Connector’s or Ethical Decision Maker’s holistic growth mindset.
Option 3: Facilitate a Mediated Dialogue
Hold a structured conversation between Tariq and Jordan, guided by Sarah or HR, to express grievances and clarify shared goals.
Pros: Builds mutual understanding; models emotional intelligence; strengthens trust.
Cons: Time-intensive; requires skillful facilitation.
Archetype Lens: Facilitator, Connector, and Ethical Decision Maker archetypes — courage blended with empathy.
Option 4: Decide Unilaterally
Sarah could choose which prototype to move forward with and announce the decision top-down.
Pros: Fast; eliminates ambiguity.
Cons: Damages morale and long-term engagement; risks stifling innovation.
Archetype Lens: Pure Executive decisiveness — missing the Visionary and Cultivator balance.
Option 5: Turn the Conflict into a Case Study
Host a collaborative session where the entire team evaluates both Tariq’s and Jordan’s approaches as potential learning paths, combining strengths from each.
Pros: Reframes tension as growth; promotes innovation through inclusion.
Cons: Requires trust; emotionally delicate.
Archetype Lens: Innovator, Cultivator, and Facilitator working together — transformative and developmental.
A Recommended Approach – The Balanced Path - When Teams Collide
At im4u.world, we recommend blending Options 3 and 5 — facilitate a courageous conversation, then transform it into a shared learning experience.
Sarah first meets privately with Tariq and Jordan together. She opens with ground rules for respect, then listens deeply — no interruptions, no defensiveness. Each shares not just their technical stance but how they feel about the project and each other’s perspectives. This is the Facilitator in action: holding space for truth and vulnerability.
Once tensions ease, Sarah reframes the discussion:
“You both care about the same goal — making PlantForm the gold standard in sustainable packaging. You just have different instincts on how to get there. What if both instincts are right?”
That reframing activates the Connector and Visionary archetypes — reminding them of shared purpose.
She then invites them to co-lead a design sprint where the entire team tests a hybrid prototype that blends Tariq’s bold design with Jordan’s production discipline. The sprint succeeds beyond expectations. The final product is innovative, stable, and market-ready — and the once-divided team celebrates together.
Why This Works:
It embodies Empowered Realism — facing conflict with empathy and accountability.
It integrates multiple archetypes:
Facilitator – guides the process with calm structure.
Connector – repairs emotional bonds.
Ethical Decision Maker – ensures fairness and mutual respect.
Innovator + Builder – merge creativity and practicality.
Strategist – aligns the solution with the company’s bigger picture.
The result is more than peace — it’s progress. Sarah doesn’t just fix a conflict; she evolves the team.
Now It’s Your Turn
Have you ever led a team divided by strong personalities? When teams collided, how did you rebuild trust and move forward? What worked — and what didn’t?
Share your story. Your insight might be the real-world guidance another leader needs right now.
🌍 The Leadership Compass: Navigate Your Path
Get the practical knowledge to lead well with im4u.world.
This article is part of our commitment to helping you develop the principles of Empowered Realism in your leadership journey.
The challenges Sarah faced are universal — moments where character and conviction collide. The approaches explored here come from the Leadership Compass, im4u.world’s model for leadership development. It’s built on the belief that great leaders don’t just react — they master and apply a balanced blend of 12 archetypes grounded in wisdom and self-awareness.
If Sarah’s story resonated with you, explore our upcoming im4u.world courses. Through immersive case studies, expert-led discussions, and practical exercises, you’ll strengthen your core leadership traits — integrity, resilience, empathy, and self-discipline.
Our courses will help you:
Communicate with Conviction: Craft and deliver messages that inspire action.
Lead with Vision: Paint a compelling picture of the future that unites your team.
Connect with Purpose: Build authentic relationships that fuel collaboration and trust.
Don’t just read about leadership — embody it. Visit im4u.world to take our free Leadership Compass self-assessment, discover your unique leadership blend, and take the next step in your journey toward Empowered Realism.
🔥 Trending Hashtags
#TheSituationRoom #LeadershipUnderPressure #EmpoweredRealism #LeadershipCompass #GenZLeadership #ConflictResolution #WorkCulture #TeamDynamics #EmotionalIntelligence #im4uworld
GLH-SR-101825
Comments