Lots of authors are extolling the virtues of conflict these days, including Terry Paulson in an article in Associations Now (he’s also speaking at the ASAE & The Center Annual Meeting in Chicago).
He talks about managing tensions in leadership. I like it because it’s a principle I’ve believed in for a long time now. For me it came out of writing people were doing around lessons from “new science” like quantum physics (light is BOTH a particle and a wave). We as a culture like closure and answers, so we don’t spend enough time nurturing open questions and tension. So Paulson’s points talk about being tight and loose, using fear and hope, and taking the best from tradition and change. As much as I’m an advocate AGAINST status quo (in the association community in particular), I agree with his point:
Don’t shy away from the tension that this creates. Use it. Instead of silencing critics, seek them out as sounding boards for possible changes. Keep your change agents and your status-quo seekers talking to get the best out of both. Neither has a lock on truth.
I liked this article a lot, too, Jamie. Another idea/person I’d throw out there that advocates the power of tension is Robyn Waters, who also will be at ASAE & The Center’s annual meeting and whose book “Hummer and Mini” also has been featured in Associations Now. (http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=24149)
You bring up an interesting point about being against the status quo. As you know, I also would put myself in that camp, but as Paulson says, I don’t think it’s ever very prudent to silence debate and opinion.
My position on being “against the status quo” is not so much that the status quo is inherently bad. If a leader or decision maker takes into account the fact that the world around him or her is constantly changing, but determines that there is no need to deviate from the planned course, that’s fine. It’s when current success (or even just the current situation) blinds you to the rest of the world that the status quo will ruin you.