Chapter 8: How to Deal with Difficult Project Team Members

Reality Check

Six Sigma project teams often struggle with the difference between a compromise and a consensus style in dealing with conflict on the team. Compromise can usually resolve conflict fairly quickly, but when the issue is very important to the project, holding out for a consensus is worth the extra time and effort. Please see Notes on Handling Team Conflict Through Compromising vs. Consensus-Seeking above.

Example of a Conflict for Which Consensus Is Appropriate

A Six Sigma team created two processes for improving customer wait time at a bank. Each process had several proponents on the team and the debate became quite heated. The team decided to try each process in different branches and compare the results (a compromise).

Ultimately, neither process was quite right, and the team ended up taking the best elements from each (a consensus). Had the team members continued to work toward a common solution, rather than simply advocating for their own favorite, the better solution might have been reached without the time and expense of a contest.

Example of a Conflict for Which Compromise Is Appropriate

A Six Sigma team made up of representatives from two plants designed new touch-pad technology for collecting control chart data on production lines. The team had budget to buy touch screens for four lines. Naturally, the

members from each plant wanted these first screens in their own plant, and a loud argument erupted over who deserved them more. They decided the fair thing to do was to put two of the new screens in each plant.