Can these simple tweaks make you a better team player?

"Conflict is the friction needed in relationships and organizations" to keep us from getting stuck and "to move things forward," says Lisa Danels, author of "The Human Edge Advantage: Mastering the Art of Being All In." Addressing it in real time rather than letting it steam is key, adds Optima Office CEO Jennifer Barnes, and the pair offer four ways to make conflict work for you.

Put it into practice: Prepare for a conversation on a conflict with five key investigatory questions, and then ensure you're coming from a positive mindset before approaching the other person. Be insistent yet polite about having the conversation, ask questions that don't start with "why?" and ensure equal understanding before embarking on a resolution, Danels and Barnes say.

Balancing challenge and aggressiveness. This poll is interesting in that it shows a dichotomy of giving high performers challenging assignments (15%) while at the same time preventing them from taking on too much work (26%) and helping them understand what their real trajectory is for advancement (33%). There's also a nod to remembering you have other team members you have to keep motivated (16%).

Based on all this, it seems the best approach with these high performers is having honest and direct conversations about the work they should or should not take on and helping them understand where "the bar" is for advancement. Without that kind of candor, they can become frustrated or burn themselves out (or both). Ask them what their expectations are and manage them candidly.

-- Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, which includes TITAN -- the firm's e-learning platform. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a West Point graduate and author of three leadership books: "One Piece of Paper," "Lead Inside the Box" and "The Elegant Pitch."

Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo's former chairman and CEO, says the best way to "earn the stripes to be a leader" is by surrounding yourself with mentors who can help advance your career and reveal your growing edge. "It's not just the old CEO group that can support you. Your network might have people much younger than you, and they're the ones who can tell you what you need to learn," Nooyi notes.

Forty-six years ago, no one would know what a lightsaber was or what it meant to "go to the dark side," let alone recognize the name Yoda or what a Jedi was, but researchers say terms from the "Star Wars" movies have transformed the English language, providing colorful metaphors and similes. For example, the research shows that between 1990 and 2015, "Jedi" was used more than four times per million words in the Corpus of Contemporary English.

Creating a high-performance culture that excites your teams and your customers is vital to surviving in this fast-paced time of change and unrest, writes Hugh Blane. One of the best ways to do that is to improve collaboration by working on your own trigger points, as Marlene Chism advises. Getting better at handling conflict and turning potentially harmful situations into positive growth is also a skill leaders must hone, according to Lisa Danels and Jennifer Barnes.

That is a tall order; top-notch cultures don't appear overnight. They result from consistent, dedicated work by leaders who know they want the agility needed to handle whatever their industry throws at them next.

How are you building your Ferrari culture? Let me know!

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