Your bioprocessing scaling team is facing conflicts. How will you navigate through them effectively?

What to do as a manager: - Schedule a separate meeting to discuss the conflict outside regular stand-ups. - Prepare 3–4 open-ended questions, such as: --- What specifically is bothering you at work right now? --- Have there been moments when you felt unfairly treated or misunderstood? --- What do you think caused this? - Hold 1:1 conversations with key people involved before any team-wide discussion. - Identify the core causes: technical issues, misaligned goals, or communication breakdowns. - Create a visual map: Issue – Root Cause – Impact. This helps clarify what really matters.

I would try to address the conflicts early by facilitating open, respectful communication, understanding each person's perspective, aligning everyone on common goals, and collaboratively finding solutions to move the team forward productively. If the conflict has already started, I would step in quickly to de-escalate emotions, hold private conversations if needed to understand the root causes, then bring the team together to openly discuss the issues, refocus everyone on shared objectives, and set clear agreements to move forward respectfully and effectively.

First, I’d take a step back to objectively identify the root causes of the conflict—whether it's resource constraints, unclear roles, or timeline pressures. A quick diagnostic helps avoid treating just the symptoms.

What to do as a manager: - Set ground rules in advance: “no interruptions,” “no judgment,” “speak from personal experience.” - At the start of the meeting, clarify the goal: to understand — not to assign blame. - Give each person space to speak. Start with a neutral statement like: “I’ve noticed some tension. Let’s talk openly about what’s going on.” - Use active listening: rephrase what was said, ask clarifying questions, and show understanding. - Capture shared statements in real time (e.g., in a shared doc or whiteboard): “We agreed that…”, “We’re concerned about…”

Next, I’d create a safe space for open, respectful conversations where every team member feels heard. By encouraging transparency and focusing on shared goals, we can transform friction into collaboration and keep the scaling process on track.

What to do as a manager: - After surfacing the conflict, organize a focus sync to realign on goals. - Present the current success metrics for scaling (e.g., production volume, stability, time, quality). - Ask each person to briefly explain how their role contributes to those metrics. - Document shared goals in OKR format or a simple structure like: --- Objective: Double output without compromising process stability --- Key Results: Launch time ≤ 48 hours, error rate < 2% - Make goals visible — pin them in Slack, put them on a dashboard, or display them in your project tool.

What to do as a manager: - Conduct a quick skills audit. Build a table: Team member – Strengths – Weak points – Task types. - Assign work based on strengths, not just availability. - Publicly recognize contributions tied to individual expertise: “Maria’s previous launch experience gave us a critical advantage here.” - Set up peer-to-peer mentoring — pair strong performers with others to share knowledge. - Where appropriate, delegate decision-making within each person’s zone of expertise.

What to do as a manager: - Identify whether the conflict is emotional or functional. Emotional? Handle with 1:1s. Functional? Run a structured group session. - If emotions are high, bring in a neutral moderator or facilitator (someone from HR or another team). - Ask both sides to describe their ideal working state, not just what went wrong. - Write down the agreements: who will do what differently. Share the recap in writing. - Schedule a follow-up meeting in 1–2 weeks to revisit and evaluate how things are going.

What to do as a manager: - After the conflict, run a post-review: --- What happened? --- How did we respond? --- What worked or didn’t? - Set up regular check-ins every 2 weeks, allowing people to voice concerns proactively. - Offer an anonymous feedback channel or form to surface process, people, or leadership issues. - Introduce small process tweaks monthly — even when things seem “fine.” - Reinforce this mindset: “Conflict isn’t failure — it’s a signal for growth.”