The Challenge of Nonviolence

Q: What’s the most challenging aspect of leading and managing teams?

A: Avoiding violence.

The most challenging aspect of leading and managing teams, especially in today’s modern workplaces, can be encapsulated in a single phrase: avoiding violence. The concept of violence in this context extends beyond the conventional understanding of physical aggression to include psychological violence, passive violence, and domination structures prevalent in organisations.

When discussing violence in a team setting, we must also consider psychological violence, often termed ‘abuse’ or ‘mental cruelty.’ This form of violence is inflicted not physically but emotionally and mentally. Passive violence is another important aspect to note. It encompasses consciously ignoring someone’s physical, psychological, or emotional needs or failing to ensure their safety and well-being. In both scenarios, the effect on team morale, engagement, and overall productivity can be profoundly negative.

The Roots

Renowned author and psychotherapist Marshall Rosenberg provides a critical insight into this subject, stating that “classifying and judging people promotes violence.” In essence, the root cause of most violence – verbal, psychological, or physical – is a kind of thinking that attributes conflict to wrongness in one’s adversaries.

Domination structures within organisations can be a significant source of violence. Scholar and activist Walter Wink coined the term “Domination Structures” or “Domination Culture,” highlighting a system where authority is concentrated at the top and obedience and compliance is demanded from the lower ranks. This form of structure promotes systemic beliefs, often maintained through coercive violence, which can suppress creativity, hinder collaboration, impair cognitive function, and breed a culture of fear and silence.

Relevance

The relevance of nonviolence to everyday business operations, particularly software development, is significant. Domination structures and their resulting violence lead to ineffective organisations marked by disengaged employees, low morale, and poor productivity.

Understanding and addressing these forms of violence in teams require an evolved fellowship style that promotes egalitarian, mutually respectful, and affirming relationships. It involves creating an environment that values empathy and understanding, fostering a culture that is at the ‘partnership’ end of the spectrum rather than the ‘domination’ end.

In conclusion, managing and leading teams is a challenging task that goes beyond task allocation and performance tracking. It requires navigating the delicate nuances of human emotions and creating a safe, respectful, and empathetic work environment, free from all forms of violence. This, undoubtedly, is the most demanding aspect of leadership and management, but when achieved, it can pave the way for exceptional team performance.