Working with Difficult Tensions Instead of Avoiding Them
In many organisations, tension is treated as a warning sign, something to reduce, resolve, or move past as quickly as possible. Competing priorities are framed as problems. Discomfort is softened. Conversations stay polite. And yet, the tensions don’t disappear. In groups, teams, and organisations, tension is not an exception. It’s part of how work actually happens.
Where people come together to make decisions, deliver results, and navigate constraints, different needs, priorities, and perspectives inevitably collide. This is true whether the work is strategic or operational, whether the context is stable or changing. Tension often shows up first between people, but it rarely originates there. It is usually rooted in systemic conditions competing demands, unclear expectations, power dynamics, performance pressure, or mismatched assumptions about what matters most.
When this tension isn’t acknowledged at a group or organisational level, it tends to surface in familiar ways: stalled conversations, polite agreement, unresolved conflict, or declining trust. The work continues, but something essential remains unspoken.
Want to work through difficult tensions and leverage them for optimal outcomes?
They resurface as stalled decisions, quiet disengagement, fractured relationships, or performance that never quite reaches its potential. This work supports situations where:
Competing needs sit in the room at the same time
Performance pressure and inclusion feel like they’re pulling in opposite directions
Conversations stay polite while the real issues go untouched
These aren’t signs of failure. They are signals of complexity. Organisational life is full of competing demands: pace and care, consistency and flexibility, delivery and development. Research into organisational paradox and leadership shows that trying to eliminate one side of these tensions often weakens outcomes, while learning to work with both strengthens decision-making and performance.
The challenge is that tension feels uncomfortable. It can trigger defensiveness, avoidance, or a rush to resolution. As a result, many organisations default to smoothing things over, prioritising surface harmony over meaningful progress.
The Include-Performance Framework® takes a different approach. The focus is on using tension as data, not something to fix or smooth over. Tension is treated as information about what matters, where needs collide, and what trade-offs are genuinely in play.
When tension is surfaced and worked with:
Hidden assumptions become visible
Competing needs can be named rather than acted out
Decisions include more of reality, not just what’s easy to agree on
This is particularly important when inclusion and performance are positioned as competing agendas. Inclusion surfaces differ by definition. Performance introduces targets, constraints, and accountability. When these are held in opposition, organisations often swing between extremes, either prioritising delivery at the expense of people, or prioritising harmony at the expense of results. Working with tension allows both to inform each other. This kind of work is more deliberate, more relational, and more disciplined.
It asks leaders and facilitators to stay present when conversations feel uncomfortable, to resist collapsing complexity too quickly, and to create conditions where people can engage honestly without losing connection or accountability. That’s how tensions stop draining energy and start contributing to better outcomes, stronger trust, and more sustainable performance.
This is where inclusion and performance meet the real conditions of organisational life. If you’re working with complex change where tensions are unavoidable, the Include-Performance Framework® Train-the-Facilitator programme supports working with difference, pressure, and accountability in practice.
Working with Tension: Turning Difference and Pressure into Informed Decisions
What do we mean by “working with tension” in groups and organisations?
Working with tension means acknowledging competing needs, priorities, and perspectives rather than trying to eliminate them. In groups, teams, and organisations, tension is often a signal that something important is at stake. This approach treats tension as information that can inform better decisions, rather than as something to smooth over.
If you’re working with complex change where tensions are unavoidable, the Include-Performance Framework® Train-the-Facilitator programme supports working with difference, pressure, and accountability in practice.
Why do tensions arise so often in teams and organisations?
Tensions arise because organisational life involves trade-offs between performance and wellbeing, consistency and flexibility, speed and quality. When these trade-offs are not openly discussed, tension tends to surface indirectly through disengagement, conflict, or stalled progress.
Is tension always a sign that something is going wrong?
No. Tension is often a sign that difference, accountability, or complexity is present. In many cases, the absence of tension can indicate avoidance or silence rather than alignment. What matters is not whether tension exists, but how it is worked with.
How is working with tension connected to inclusion?
Inclusion surfaces difference by definition. When difference is avoided, inclusion becomes superficial. Working with tension allows diverse perspectives and needs to inform decisions, strengthening both inclusion and performance.
How does this approach support performance outcomes?
When tensions are acknowledged and explored, decisions include more of reality. This reduces hidden conflict, rework, and disengagement, supporting more sustainable performance over time.
If you’re working with complex change where tensions are unavoidable, the Include-Performance Framework® Train-the-Facilitator programme supports working with difference, pressure, and accountability in practice.
Does working with tension slow decision-making?
Working with tension can feel slower initially because it involves staying with complexity. In practice, it often prevents delays later by reducing resistance, misalignment, and repeated conversations that never quite resolve the issue.
What role do leaders and facilitators play in working with tension?
Leaders and facilitators shape whether tension becomes productive or corrosive. Their ability to hold discomfort, invite honest dialogue, and maintain compassionate accountability strongly influences outcomes.
Who is this approach most relevant for?
This approach is particularly relevant for leaders, facilitators, and organisations working with complex change, high accountability, and diverse stakeholder needs, where inclusion and performance both matter.