An ideal culture is one of harmony, but it doesn’t mean it is always harmonious…it is a healthy balance of challenges and resolutions, of appreciation and accountability, of collaboration and confrontation, and empathy and expression - all in service of a mutual purpose. When you don't feel comfortable to express yourself there is a level of tolerable discomfort.

Because it is tolerable, neither people (nor systems) are always motivated to intervene. At this point if you are focused on your individual and immediate desire to avoid confrontation, rather than prioritizing the needs of the relationship or organization, then you risk the occurrence of incidents that might serve to temporarily reveal symptoms of core issues, but don't lead to any long-term solutions or future evolutions.

Repetitive incidents lead to misunderstandings and misunderstandings lead to more incidents. If unattended the relationship or organization descends into a chronic level of tension that can lead to a dysfunctional crisis. If seen as not just an action but an attitude, dynamic dialogues serve to make the interruption of these negative paths and cycles more possible and productive and the players less resistant.