From Friction to Fuel: Using Tension as a Problem-Solving Signal

About the Event

Most teams treat friction like a failure. High-performing teams treat it like data.

Missed handoffs. Defensive reactions. Awkward silence. The same debates resurfacing again and again. These moments aren’t signs that people are difficult—they’re signals that something in the system needs attention!

In this session of The Problem Solver’s Dojo, we’ll reframe tension as a powerful input for problem solving. Instead of smoothing it over or shutting it down, you’ll learn how to use friction to uncover unmet needs, unclear standards, and unspoken assumptions.

This session builds directly on defining success and standards. Once standards exist, friction shows you exactly where they break down—and where learning is possible.

What We’ll Explore

• The difference between personal conflict and process tensio

• Where friction commonly shows up:

• How leaders unintentionally shut down useful tension

• A simple reframe: “What is this tension trying to tell us?”

This session quietly builds psychological safety, curiosity, and systems thinking—without ever turning into a “conflict management” workshop!

👉 Join us and learn to turn tension into progress.