By Vicki Haywood Doe PhD, ACSM-EP
Why healthy disagreement may be exactly what the business of fitness needs
We often hear that successful teams need to get on the same page. We want collaboration. We want unity. We want everyone moving in the same direction. But do we really need to agree to work together?
I don't think so.
Sometimes we become so concerned with keeping the peace that we simply “get along to move along.” We sit at the table knowing something doesn't quite make sense. We see change happening around us. We question whether an old way of doing things still works but nobody wants to be the one to raise the uncomfortable question. That may keep a meeting peaceful. But does it move an organization forward?
The Business of Fitness Is Changing
I have spent decades in health, fitness, wellness, and business, and I have watched our industry evolve. Exercise professionals are becoming more integrated into health and healthcare. Health and wellness coaching continues to grow. Consumers are getting health information from podcasts, YouTube, social media, apps, and other digital platforms. Artificial intelligence is creating another major shift in how we educate, communicate, and operate our businesses.
And the traditional fitness business is no longer limited to brick-and-mortar facilities. Virtual and hybrid models have changed how and where we serve people. With change comes disagreement.
What should we change? What should we keep? What does the evidence tell us? And are we willing to question the way we've always done things?
Those are conversations we need to have.
Healthy Disagreement Can Move Us Forward
Recent research gives us something important to think about. A 2026 study examining workplace conflict and innovation found that task conflict, disagreement centered on the work or ideas can promote innovative behavior, while relationship conflict can hinder it. The study also found that an environment where employees feel able to voice their perspectives can help strengthen the positive side of disagreement.
Similarly, 2024 research on psychological safety found that collaboration, information sharing, give-and-take, and communication were positively connected with innovative performance. In other words, the problem isn't always disagreement. Sometimes it's how we disagree.
We can challenge an idea without attacking a person. We can question a strategy without questioning someone's worth. And we can sit at the same table, share the same mission, and still see the path forward differently.
Leadership Takes Courage
It is easy to speak when everyone in the room agrees with you. Leadership becomes harder when you believe something needs to be said and you're not sure everyone wants to hear it. Sometimes leadership means being willing to respectfully ask:
“Have we considered another way?”
It means listening when someone challenges our ideas, too. The goal isn't to disagree simply for the sake of disagreement. Eventually, decisions must be made and organizations must move forward. But unity around a mission does not require uniformity in our thinking.
Moving Forward
As business owners, professionals, and leaders, we should ask ourselves:
- Are we creating an environment where people can respectfully challenge ideas?
- Do we listen to perspectives that differ from our own?
- Are we willing to question practices simply because “that's how we've always done it”?
- And when we know something needs to be discussed, do we have the courage to speak or do we simply get along to move along?
The business of fitness will continue to change. Our job isn't to agree about everything. Our job is to listen, question, analyze, adapt, and have the courage to lead through change. Because sometimes disagreement isn't what holds an organization back.
Sometimes, it's where progress begins!
Article's Sources
Dar, N. (2026). How conflict shapes innovation: Investigating resistance to change, task conflict and relationship conflict. International Journal of Conflict Management, 37(3), 497–526. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-04-2025-0107
Jin, H., & Peng, Y. (2024). The impact of team psychological safety on employee innovative performance: A study with communication behavior as a mediator variable. PLOS ONE, 19(10), e0306629. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306629
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