A guest post excerpted from an article by Mary Scannell, founder, Biz Team Tools, best-selling author, trainer and speaker

According to the Washington Business Journal, the typical manager spends 25 to 40 percent of his or her time dealing with workplace conflicts. Conflict is inevitable in any team. But the outcome does not have to be negative. Conflict can provide opportunities. Conflict challenges us to think harder, be more creative, develop greater understanding and search for alternative avenues that often turn out to be more efficient, effective and productive. But conflict left unresolved can break a team down and be costly to an organization.

While conflict may be uncomfortable, engaging in conflict doesn’t have to be negative or counterproductive. In fact, it can be positive. Conflict can be helpful in making necessary changes within a work environment.

If managers want to help their teams turn conflicts into positive outcomes, they must take the time to coach their employees to effectively work with and through the differences that come with diversity. Differences of opinion, personality, style and points of view can provide impetus for creativity and innovation.

Team-building activities can create a safe environment for team members to experience real conflict — complete with emotions, assumptions and communication challenges. Because games often mimic the characteristics of real-life situations, especially when it comes to competition and cooperation, they can reveal the normal way conflict is dealt with on the team. Teams can begin to understand these reactions and then discover more effective strategies for dealing with similar situations. This experience allows the team members to practice their reactions and subsequent responses to conflict. Consequently, in times of conflict in the workplace, team members will have the tools and experience that bring about the desired results. Once the team has experienced the benefits of dealing with conflict — saving time, increased trust, stronger relationships, enhanced creativity and more open communication — they are usually more likely to embrace conflict, rather than ignore it.

Conflict is healthy for a team as long as it is handled in an effective manner. By embracing conflict thoughtfully, team members are likely to become more accepting of co-workers’ beliefs, perspectives and experiences. Conflict resolution is an ongoing process for every team, and it’s important that leaders understand the skills necessary to build a team that is confident in its ability to experience conflict and transform it into something healthy and productive.