The Hidden Conflict Loop Sabotaging Your Team

Even the most successful leaders get tripped up by blind spots, and often it's a habit that worked before, but it doesn't anymore. I'm Susan Drumm, CEO, advisor and executive coach and author of the Leaders Playlist. I've worked with Fortune 100 teams, billionaire CEOs and high growth entrepreneurs to uncover what's really holding them back and shift it on this channel, I'll share the tools and strategies I've developed over two decades so you can break unhelpful patterns, lead with a emotional agility, and build a culture that thrives. You'll also get behind the scenes. Look at the methods I use with executive teams, including insights from our Enneagram Applied and Leadership Edge programs. If you're ready to grow your leadership from the inside out, you're in the right place. Hit subscribe let's get started do you have a conflict on your team? Well, check this out. Conflict on your team isn't the real issue. It's the pattern underneath it that's doing damage. You might think it's a personality clash or a difference in communication style, but nine times out of ten, the tension is coming from a loop between your leadership patterns and theirs. And until you recognize that loop, the same problems will keep resurfacing. Same disagreements, same misunderstandings, same breakdowns. Let's talk about how to spot it and shift it before it costs you trust performance or your top task talent. Every leader has a default way of showing up under stress, a protection pattern, a fallback move. And your team members? Well, they have theirs too. And these patterns don't usually come out when things are calm. They show up when there's pressure or uncertainty or risk. And that's when the friction starts. You might find yourself wondering, well, why does this always happen with this person? Or why do they shut down when I ask direct questions? It's not random and it's not about personality. It's a loop between patterns and you can shift it. Let me give you a few examples of pattern pairings that tend to clash. There's the avoider versus the challenger. So one person sidesteps conflict and the other one leans into it. Well, to the avoider, that feels harsh. And to the challenger, it feels like they're getting nowhere. Or how about the fixer versus the Peacekeeper? The fixer jumps into solve and the peacekeeper smooths things over. Both want to help, but often they step on each other trying and they wear themselves out in the process. Or how about this one? The controller versus the free spirit One tightens Their grip. When things get messy and the other one backs away from structure to protect autonomy, neither feels heard and innovation stalls again. These are patterns, not personality flaws. And once you see them, you can lead through them. Here's the truth. You're part of the loop. That doesn't mean you're wrong. It means you're human. Maybe you try to manage every detail so nothing falls through the cracks. Or maybe you pull back and give too much space to try to avoid micromanaging. Or maybe you overdo it. Working late, saying yes to everything just to keep the team from falling apart. That's what I mean by over functioning. You step in so much, it keeps others from stepping up. But whatever your pattern is, your team is responding to it. And the more unconscious it is, the more likely it is to escalate tension. The question to ask yourself is, am I reacting to them or reacting from my pattern? So how do you know if this is a pattern loop or a performance issue? Here's the litmus test. Is it a one time event or a repeating rhythm? If the same tension resurfaces across different situations? If it shows up even when things seem okay on the surface, if it spikes under pressure, that's not a one off, that's a loop. And the feedback alone won't fix it. The energy between you has to shift. And that can only start with you. Here's where your leadership comes in. Number one, spot the loop. Notice the repeating pattern. You don't need to fix it right away, just see it. Number two, own your part. What do you do when things get tense? Do you over control? Do you withdraw? Maybe over help bring that into your awareness because that's where your leverage is. Number three, you want to reconnect to vision. What kind of culture, relationship or result do you actually want here? If you could rebuild this dynamic from scratch, what would be different? And then choose a new move. What's one shift that would align better with the vision you just named? That's the new pattern to practice. You're not trying to overhaul everything. Just take one new step and that's enough to start changing the rhythm. Conflict on your team doesn't mean you're doing something wrong. It means you have a chance to evolve individually and together. So pause and ask, what pattern am I bringing into this? What pattern are we stuck in? And what's the next move that could shift it? That's leadership, not control, not avoidance. It's awareness, an intentional choice. When you change the pattern, you change the outcome and the whole team moves forward.