Conflict as Catalyst: How to Use Tension as a Team Growth Tool

Abstract
Conflict in teams is inevitable—but unresolved conflict corrodes trust and performance. This article explores how the SWEET Healing Circle model transforms conflict into a tool for reflection, connection, and psychological safety. Drawing from systems theory, group dynamics, and emotion regulation research, we examine how conflict often reflects pre-conscious beliefs, unconscious projections, and ruptured rhythm. Practical Circle-based strategies for surfacing, holding, and transforming tension are presented as a framework for sustainable, healing-centered teamwork. 

Keywords
Conflict transformation, team repair, SWEET Healing Circle, SWEET Institute, psychological safety, rupture and repair, trauma-informed leadership, emotional regulation, reflective conflict response, systems tension, organizational healing

1. Introduction
Conflict is not a detour from the work; rather, it is the work. Unacknowledged conflict leads to gossip, withdrawal, resentment, and staff turnover. But when conflict is met with curiosity, containment, and reflection, it becomes a catalyst for transformation.

This article outlines how the SWEET Healing Circle approach invites teams to approach tension not as a threat, but as a mirror—and a guide. 

2. Theoretical Framework: Rupture, Repair, and Team Systems
2.1 Conflict as Emotional Data

Edmondson (1999) asserts that psychological safety is not the absence of conflict—it’s the ability to engage it without fear. Conflict reveals:

• Unmet needs

• Misaligned expectations

• Unspoken beliefs

• Past trauma reenacted in the present

2.2 Rupture and Repair
Siegel (2010) and Yalom (1995) describe the centrality of rupture and repair in healthy human systems. Avoiding rupture leads to emotional bypassing. Repair, on the other hand, builds resilience and relational trust.

3. Application and Analysis: Conflict in the Four Layers
3.1 Conscious Layer

• The visible moment: tone, language, email, eye roll

• Circle tool: behavioral debrief—what was said, seen, done

3.2 Pre-Conscious Layer

• “What story was activated for me in that moment?”

• Schema check-ins: “What belief do I carry about conflict?”

Circle questions:

• “What did I make that moment mean?”

• “Was I reacting to the situation—or my belief about it?”

3.3 Unconscious Layer

• Projections: “They don’t respect me,” “They always shut me down”

• Transference: Responding to a peer like a rival sibling or critical parent

Circle practices:

• “Who does this person remind me of?”

• “Is this pattern familiar in other places in my life?”

3.4 Existential Layer

• Choice point: What kind of teammate, leader, or human do I want to be in this moment?

• Circle anchor: “What is the value I’m choosing to embody in this repair?”

4. SWEET Healing Circle Strategies for Conflict Transformation

• Conflict Reflection Circle: Held 48–72 hours after a rupture, structured around the Four Layers

• Conflict Partnership Dyads: Two-person reflection guided by Circle prompts

• Team Agreements: Built-in commitments to address conflict relationally rather than reactively

• Conflict Pause Button: Teams normalize pausing a discussion to revisit later with emotional safety in place 

5. Implications for Organizational Culture
5.1 From Conflict Avoidance to Conflict Fluency
Avoidance cultures may feel “calm” but are often emotionally disconnected.

Fluent cultures move through tension with:

• Fewer escalations

• Faster recovery

• Deeper insight

5.2 Leader Modeling
When leaders normalize:

• Admitting when they’re triggered

• Owning their role in a rupture

• Repairing relationally 

They create cultures of permission and maturity.

6. Conclusion
Conflict doesn’t mean something is broken. It means something is ready to be seen. The SWEET Healing Circle offers teams the space to turn rupture into rhythm, tension into insight, and friction into growth. Not every conflict needs a resolution, but every conflict offers a reflection; and in that reflection, healing begins.

References

• Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.

• Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam.

• Yalom, I. D. (1995). The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy. Basic Books.

• Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead. Random House.

• van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Viking.

Download the scholarly version of this article by clicking HERE