The Value of Tension: How Healthy Disagreement Fuels Creativity and Alignment

In collaborative environments, whether you’re producing a theater season, launching a program, or shaping a campaign, tension often gets treated as something to avoid. It’s easy to equate harmony with productivity and assume agreement means alignment. Over time, I’ve seen how a healthy amount of tension can make the work stronger. When handled well, disagreement sharpens ideas, strengthens outcomes, and builds deeper trust among teams.

Twyla Tharp, in The Collaborative Habit, names tension as an essential part of the creative process. It’s not about chasing conflict for its own sake. It’s about making space for different perspectives to challenge each other so the final product better serves its purpose. I’ve been in rooms where this dynamic brought out the best ideas, and in rooms where the lack of it left everyone nodding along to something we knew wasn’t ready. The latter experiences actually caused much trauma and fear within me to even speak up and share an idea in the room. 

Tension vs. Conflict

There’s a clear difference between unhealthy conflict and productive tension. Unhealthy conflict often stems from ego, control, or personal agendas. Productive tension happens when people are united by a shared purpose but see different ways to get there. The difference is intent. Productive tension is driven by improving the work, not winning an argument.

When a marketing director questions whether a poster design communicates the essence of a play, they’re protecting the mission. When a set designer pushes back on a layout because it limits actor movement, they’re advocating for the performance. These moments can be uncomfortable, but they signal that people care about the outcome.

The Cost of Avoiding Tension

In a recent leadership cohort discussion, someone shared how disagreement in their past workplace was treated as disloyalty. People defaulted to “yes” even when they knew the idea had problems. I’ve seen that play out too often — projects that looked fine on the surface but didn’t meet their goals because no one felt safe speaking up.

In arts and culture, avoiding tension can lead to campaigns that are beautifully designed but disconnected from the artistic vision, or productions that are technically strong but fail to connect with the audience. If tension isn’t allowed early, misalignment often shows up later, when it’s harder and more expensive to address.

Making Tension Work for You and Your Team

• Normalize dissent early. Create brainstorming sessions where all ideas are welcome without immediate judgment. In the Working Genius language, this is the Wonder + Invention stage, a space for questions, possibilities, and innovation. The goal is to explore before deciding.

• Connect debates to purpose. When disagreements come up, bring the conversation back to the mission. Ask, “Which option gets us closer to our goal?” It moves the focus from personal preference to shared intention.

• Turn tension into clear expectations. If marketing and artistic leadership have different views, work toward defining the desired audience outcome. Once that’s clear, creative decisions are easier to evaluate.

• Debrief after the fact. After a project, reflect on where tension helped and where it slowed progress. Over time, this builds skill and comfort in using tension constructively.

A Cultural Shift Worth Making

Healthy tension requires trust. It thrives in environments where people can challenge each other’s ideas without risking relationships. This isn’t about stirring drama. It’s about making sure every voice can help refine and strengthen the work.

The arts, culture, and mission-driven sectors often deal with complex stories, nuanced messaging, and deeply personal connections to the work. That’s exactly why tension should be treated as a tool, not a threat. When we approach it with respect, purpose, and the mission in mind, we create work that is richer, more resonant, and more aligned with the vision we share.

Source: Concept inspired by Twyla Tharp’s The Collaborative Habit and real-world examples shared in a leadership cohort on building collaborative team culture.

If you’re interested in Working Genius training for your team, reach out to Kim Tarlton at Story and Stone Consulting