Best Of | How to Disagree Without Making It Personal

Best Of | How to Disagree Without Making It Personal

From Thriving Leaders Podcast by Claire Gray

August 24, 2026 · 7 min

About this episode

Claire Gray and Dr Kaye Monk-Morgan discuss how leaders can foster healthy disagreement within teams without damaging trust.

How can teams disagree without damaging trust or making the conversation personal? Claire Gray and Dr Kaye Monk-Morgan explore how leaders can create healthier conflict and make honest challenge less risky. In this Best Of episode of the Thriving Leaders Podcast, Kaye explains why people sometimes need explicit permission to disagree, why challenging an idea is different from challenging authority, and how shared language can help teams work through difficult conversations. You will hear practical insights on: – Inviting healthy challenge within a team – Separating an idea from the person who raised it – Avoiding groupthink without creating unnecessary conflict – Using curiosity and shared language to depersonalise disagreement – Creating courageous spaces for honest feedback Dr Kaye Monk-Morgan is President and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center. Claire Gray is a leadership and team facilitator, executive coach, speaker and author of Thriving Leaders and Thriving Teams. Explore leadership programs, team development, coaching and more: https://www.thrivingculture.com.au Subscribe for practical conversations about leadership, high-performing teams, psychological safety…

People in this episode

Host: Claire Gray

Guest: Dr Kaye Monk-Morgan

Topics covered

  • healthy conflict
  • leadership
  • team dynamics
  • psychological safety
  • communication

Keywords

  • disagreement
  • trust
  • conflict
  • teamwork
  • communication
  • leadership
  • psychological safety

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kansas Leadership Center, Thriving Culture

Books & works: Thriving Leaders, Thriving Teams

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