Entrepreneur Series #18: Using Conflict to Build Culture

This is the final installment of a series of 18 articles I wrote for Entrepreneur.com.

We made it. Eighteen articles. And it feels right that this series ends where most leaders’ discomfort begins: conflict.

Buried tension is a slow poison. The disagreement you avoid today becomes the culture problem you can’t solve tomorrow. But conflict handled with curiosity and respect? That’s how trust actually gets built.

Start casual: “Hey, I felt like we were at odds on that last project. Can we regroup?” Be specific about behaviors, not character. Do it privately. And look beneath the surface — most workplace conflicts aren’t really about the thing people are arguing about. They’re about unmet expectations, unclear roles, or communication gaps that nobody wanted to name.

The hardest lesson: give difficult people a seat at the solution table. When people have agency in fixing the problem, they stop being the problem. But know the difference between difficult and toxic — difficult people are reachable. Toxic ones need to go.

Read the full article on Entrepreneur.com

Previously: Teen Tantrums Made Me a Better Boss

The Complete Series

  1. The 3 Modes of Communication — April 12, 2024
  2. Be a Coach, Not a Referee — May 23, 2024
  3. Help Others Think Big — May 29, 2024
  4. Should I Tell My Boss About This? — June 3, 2024
  5. Why You Have to Let People Fail — June 12, 2024
  6. The Delegation Trap — July 2, 2024
  7. Quit Chasing Vanity Metrics — July 23, 2024
  8. The 2 Interview Questions That Matter — September 3, 2024
  9. Manage Through Relationships — October 17, 2024
  10. 8 Lessons from Leading Remote — October 25, 2024
  11. 4 Coaching Stages Every Leader Should Master — November 8, 2024
  12. The One Overlooked Coaching Skill — November 16, 2024
  13. How Parenthood Trains Leaders — December 12, 2024
  14. Channeling Competitiveness — February 4, 2025
  15. Mission vs. Money — February 4, 2025
  16. Supportive Without Soft — March 24, 2025
  17. Teen Tantrums Made Me a Better Boss — March 25, 2025
  18. Using Conflict to Build Culture — May 28, 2025