In an organisation, culture isn’t the absence of conflict — it’s how conflict is handled. Every group will have collaborative friction and confrontation to resolve it; the culture determines if that becomes toxic or transformative.
As a team we should preach and believe that the right kind of conflict is critical to making good design. Design without conflict is art. Conflict without design reasoning is just opinion.
The Art of War says to resolve conflicts strategicaly
On the subject of conflict the Art of War says to prioritise de-escalation and understanding over direct confrontation. The highest form of “victory” is skilfully manoeuvring through the conflict rather than hitting it head on. Foster cooperation instead. It’s important to remove a “zero-sum” situation where one side must win and the other must lose.
To do this we need to redefine what confrontation looks like in conflict resolution. You always need to give your “opponent” a way out.
What does confrontation do?
- Confrontation reveals true values. Policies say one thing — but the way people actually behave when in conflict shows what the culture actually is. Pay attention to how this news is delivered.
- Healthy cultures lean into respectful confrontation. They make space for disagreement without blame or fear. Confrontation is a positive thing when it’s part of a collaborative process.
- Avoiding confrontation is also a cultural cue. If people fear speaking up, that’s still “culture” — just a silent one.
- Who gets to confront whom matters. Power dynamics shape who is “allowed” to speak up or challenge the status quo. For best results feedback must flow both up and down the chain
I’ve talked before about Usability is a Culture and it’s a good reminder how culture happens more widely and is a result of how conflict is handled in an organisation. How do we recognise our conflict resolution style and how do we work on and improve it? Putting a UX lens on it might help.
UX Lens: Why Confrontation Matters
- Design is inherently confrontational — in a good way. As UX designers we are constantly challenging assumptions, advocating for users, and negotiating trade-offs. The way our team handles these moments is the culture of the org.
- Culture is not what we say but how we act when we disagree. Make sure it’s ok to be respectfully contradictory. Sometimes the best ideas happen when we challenge assumptions.
- Culture is revealed in critique. Are design reviews spaces of learning or quiet compliance? Does the team offer real feedback or just praise and acceptance? Is the tone personal (about you) or professional (about the work)? That atmosphere tells you everything.
Cross-Functional Dynamics across roles
- UX often sits between tension points: 1. Product, 2. Engineering, and 3. Users
- 1. Product wants speed
- 2. Engineering wants feasibility
- 3. Users want clarity
- You balance these depending on your culture of confrontation.
- In a strong conflict culture, a team that challenges a design decision is a professional. A team that critiques the person directly that is a personal challenge which is culturally toxic.
The trick is to always keep feedback professional.
Psychological Safety for Designers
- In a professional setting, teams confidently ask why something is being done in a certain way. Why is key to discovery and creating better designs.
- Designers need to confidently say, ‘this isn’t good enough,’ without facing backlash. When the team doesn’t accept or respect input, quality quietly declines. This, in turn, leads to a drop in morale and culture.
- UX is the why for UI, so UX must be clarified first before moving on to designing the UI. If not, the UI design will not be stable.
Safety must be part of the overall team culture otherwise team unity withers on the vine.
Feedback Loops and Rituals
- How do you handle feedback in critiques, research playback, or UX retrospectives? If confrontation is awkward or avoided, you end up with surface-level improvements and hidden frustration. Use professional feedback centred around helping users.
- Good UX culture normalises confrontation. Think: user insights that disrupt a product roadmap. UX requires challenging design decisions. All of that should be part of the rhythm, not dramatic interruptions to workflow.
How to build a good confrontation culture
- You can design the way you confront. Just like you design for users, you can design rituals (like better crits, alignment sessions, and 1:1s) that make confrontation productive. As mentioned previously a UX Retrospective is a great, and very professional way to expose issues while keeping it professional.
- Standardise design reviews: If possible create a standardised survey with an objective score/scoring system to gauge design improvements internally.
- Leaders and seniors model the tone. If they handle feedback with curiosity, not defensiveness, it gives everyone else permission to do the same. It’s amazing what a positive environment can do for participation!
Your culture is how your organisation handles confrontation. How does your organisation address this? Hopefully it’s transformative and not toxic!
