Strategic Alliance Magazine Q3 2017 - 17

T H E A RT O F S PA R R I N G A N D C RO S S I N G S WO R D S

Essential to conflict resolution are also what he calls the
Four C's:
n

Commitment

Communication

Culture

Continuity

"Write them on the back of your hand," he advises. "I see
these over and over. If you can address these, you have 80
percent of the win because all are impacted by conflict. A
lack of any one of those can contribute to conflict. ... If you
create better communication protocols, clearly understand
the commitment of each organization around the alliance,
and keep the continuity going, then when you run into
the culture piece, you have the building blocks already in
place. It's like a linked chain, and you can't tackle the cultural component without, at least, addressing the others."

Ask Open Questions
What happened?
Why do you feel that way?

Arreche also advises executives to use the Five Whys: Ask
five probing questions to perform root cause analysis and
help determine some of the best alternatives. And pay attention to the personalities at the table. "Understanding
personalities will help you create options and handle your
own conflict. Understand yourself and how you work your
own personal traits ... and your partners' strengths," he
adds (see Figure 3).

How does that make you feel?

McDermott also subscribes to a list of dos and don'ts for
conflict resolution, which she calls The Basics:

Figure 3

Don't eliminate conflict-just its harmful effects

Encourage candid dialogue and debate

Seek to understand before trying to be
understood-clarify mutual understanding

Identify areas that you agree on, and isolate
areas of disagreement

Actively and mutually explore alternative
solutions: Try to have more than two because
by having three solutions, you are forcing
yourself not to polarize.

Forging the Toughest Steel
The old adage "The toughest steel is forged in the hottest
fire" may have some merit in conflict resolution practices.
What many call "good conflict" can actually enable innovation and creativity when applied appropriately. Eli Lilly
and Company has become a staunch supporter of this con-

When did this problem start?

Who else is involved?

cept after the company analyzed 14 years of survey data
that included questions on conflict. In their recent session
at the 2017 ASAP Global Alliance Summit, "Building the
Perfect Partnership: A Balance of Harmony and Conflict,"
Lilly's David Thompson, CA-AM, chief alliance officer,
and Alan Colquitt, PhD, director of global assessment, organization effectiveness and workforce research, presented
the data, which analyzed the relationship between the
health of these alliances (as evidenced by the ratings on the
survey) and the technical and commercial success of the
products on which the partners worked. When the Lilly
employees in the alliance were irritated with the partner,
there was an increased probability of technical and commercial success (see companion article, Pg. 18).
McDermott agrees that conflict can have a beneficial
component: "Having open discussions with disagreement
encourages people to be candid and opens up points of
view and perspectives," she says. "If I'm on an alliance
Q3 * 2017 | STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE

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