Crossover Logo
Log in
  • About
    About Crossover About Crossover

    Crossover is a global recruitment company that specializes in full-time remote jobs with AI-first tech companies. We enable the top 1% of global talent to qualify...

    Companies Hiring Companies Hiring

    Some of the 70+ companies that use Crossover to recruit global talent for high-paying remote positions.

    Reviews Reviews

    Hear testimonials from some of the 5,000+ rockstars who have found a rewarding career through Crossover.

    What is WorkSmart? What is WorkSmart?

    WorkSmart is Crossover’s internal productivity monitoring tool. It helps our elite remote workers stay focused, track their time, and get paid fairly - with real-time AI...

    About

    The world's largest database of skilled remote talent

  • For Jobseekers
    Current Job Openings Current Job Openings

    Crossover matches world-class people with world-class jobs at silicon valley software and EdTech companies. Earn USD from anywhere with a full-time remote job.

    Selection Process Selection Process

    Want to qualify for awesome remote jobs? Here’s what to expect from Crossover's AI-powered system of skill assessments.

    High-Paying Remote Jobs High-Paying Remote Jobs

    Find top remote jobs that pay you what you’re worth. Browse 70+ fully remote roles that match your skills, accelerate your growth, and give you the...

    US Education Jobs US Education Jobs

    Are your big ideas too cool for school? Join Crossover to qualify for the world's most innovative (and well-paid) jobs in education technology. Work full-time...

    For Jobseekers

    The world's best remote full-time jobs, with AI-first US tech companies

  • For Companies
    Hire on Crossover Hire on Crossover

    Forget average. Use our AI-powered smart filters to tap into the world's largest database of extraordinary remote talent.

    How to Hire Global Talent How to Hire Global Talent

    Need a smarter way to shortlist global contractors? We’ve spent 10 years perfecting a process that eliminates barriers, guarantees outstanding matches, and saves you time-to-fill.

    How to Manage Distributed Teams How to Manage Distributed Teams

    Streamline everything from contracts and payroll to productivity management.

    Remote Software Developers Remote Software Developers

    Find and hire the top 1% of remote software developers in the world through Crossover. Tap into a global talent pool of 7 million rigorously tested...

    For Companies

    Get the world's best AI experts on your team, in 5 mins a day

  • Reviews
  • Resources
  • Help
Crossover Logo
😡 Is there enough conflict in your remote team? ft Dr David Burkus | Ep54 OoO

Share

  1. Home
  2. Resources
  3. Out of Office
Out of Office

😡 Is there enough conflict in your remote team? ft Dr David Burkus | Ep54 OoO

Andrew Allen by Andrew Allen
  VP of Content Marketing
😡 Is there enough conflict in your remote team? ft Dr David Burkus | Ep54 OoO
Contents
  • Hey, Welcome Back!
  • Featured Guest
  • You Might Have Missed…

This bestselling author says there isn’t. He wants you to clash with your remote colleagues, & put an end to toxic agreeability. Join Andrew & David as they speak about the pros of conflict at work.

Hey, Welcome Back!

Is your team suspiciously agreeable?

Something is off, and it’s not just your mute button.

💥 This week Dr David Burkus is here to weigh in on whether team conflict a hindrance… or a hidden superpower.

David is a 5X bestselling business book author, and a leading mind on the subjects of leadership, remote work and – you guessed it – teams! As an organizational psychologist and keynote speaker, he’s delivered over 250+ speeches to audiences all over the world.

This business school professor turned thought-leader now teaches titans from NASA to Adobe. When Dr Burkus speaks, the business world listens!

🤯 And what he was about to tell me changed how I thought about conflict, forever.

Whenever I start with a new leader I ask them this:

“When was the last time someone disagreed with you in front of the team? A lot of people can’t answer – which is a HUGE indication that we have a problem. We want people to feel SAFE enough to share different opinions.”

🤐 Super SUS: Silent agreement can be low-key disagreement in stealth mode.

We’ve all been there. A meeting with several remote colleagues and not a single one had ANY pushback on ANYTHING you proposed.

You might have left the call elated – after all, everyone is onboard right? Wrong.

🥺 This is fear masquerading as agreement. And it’s poison for innovation! If no-one ever disagrees with you, your team is heading toward disaster.

Using conflict wisely in remote work is like strategically placing your WiFi boosters at home. You need to know WHERE and HOW to set them up for the best signal – so that you don’t end up with a bunch of dead zones in critical areas.  

And that’s what we’re talking about today.

It’s episode 54 and I’m chatting to Dr Burkus about conflict & innovation in remote teams.

We pick apart the dead zones and take a hard look at what conflict can do, if leaders learn to tap into it’s potential.

📊 Because it NEEDS to exist in highly creative, high performing teams.

“Every Pixar film starts out as the worst idea you’ve ever heard.

And conflict is how their movies go from suck to non-suck. Conflict is the thing that makes their product better.”

David heard this from Ed Catmill himself (Former Pixar President).

It’s a powerhouse episode today that will help you embrace imperfection, reject fear and flip the switch from absent to healthy conflict in your team.

🍴 Stick a fork in agreeableness this year.

It’s done.

📽️ This Week on Episode 54:

🤠 Find out how Pixar’s conflict-ridden creative process wins

🤬 Get the blatant truth on the unexpected benefits of workplace conflict

🤝 Learn to break free from the curse of ‘too much’ virtual agreement

😌 Explore how to build psychological safety into your team culture

🚀 Discover Google’s critical habits that make the perfect team

A massive thank-you to Dr David Burkus for sharing his incredible research & insights with us. We’ll be carrying a new perspective on healthy dissent into our 2024 team meetings!

🌊 If your remote calls are starting to feel like a synchronized swimming event (everyone is going with the flow) – then dive into this episode to learn how to make some waves with productive conflict.

It will ramp up your threshold for team innovation this year!

⚡ Enjoy!

Fight for the best ideas -

Andrew

Featured Guest

Image

Dr David Burkus is an international keynote speaker and thought-leader on business leadership. He’s written 5 bestsellers, including Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Management Remote Teams, and Best Team Ever! The Surprising Science of High Performing Teams.

David’s ideas have been showcased in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal and many others.

Known for his insightful keynotes and actionable takeaways, he works with leaders across multiple industries – from PepsiCO to Fidelity. He’s been named one of the world’s leading business thinkers of today…twice!

Find him on LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok here.

You Might Have Missed…

☑️ Why SMART Goals Aren’t So Smart in 2024 (Do This Instead)

☑️ Transition to Remote Work with the ‘Suck-First’ Principle

☑️ The Unusual Leadership Soft Skills Powering Remote Success

☑️ Redefining Connection: How Remote Work Changes Social & Cultural Capital

🧐 The Latest Radically Remote: Is This the End of Goal Setting?

🎯 Hiring the top 1% of tech talent? Here they are.

😎 Get featured on Out of Office? Apply here!


Similar post
📢 Breaking news: The FINAL episode of Out of Office with Andrew Allen | Ep84 OoO

Hey, Welcome Back! One. Last. Time. You probably thought I’d keep going forever, likeMarvel spin-offsor awkwardZoom meetings that should’ve been emai...

Read more
2,416,312 Subscribers
LinkedIn Newsletter Logo
NEWSLETTER
Radically Remote
News, stories and insights from LinkedIn’s largest remote work community.
Subscribe on LinkedIn

Share

Andrew Allen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Allen

  VP of Content Marketing

Andrew lives in Auckland, New Zealand and has worked full-time remotely for Crossover since early 2021. His superpower is using storytelling and humor to make interesting and memorable insights on complex topics. He's known for hosting the world's most-viewed remote work vlog (Out of Office), co-creating one of the most-subscribed newsletters on LinkedIn (Radically Remote), and contributing to Forbes. Beyond work, Andrew has visited over 100 countries, seen all seven wonders, and starred in a few high profile TV shows and musicals in New Zealand. You can hear a bit more of his backstory (and meet his dogs) here.

Return to Top
Read Next
🛺 A call to remote leadership with Rahul Subramaniam | Destination India Part 1 OoO
Section Separator Top

Blog

View all blogs

Want to read more?
We have a lot more where that came from

Software Engineering
Will AI Replace Software Engineers? Not If You Do This
Will AI replace software engineers? This is the question hanging over the heads of every engineering team right now. Engineers have lived wi...
Read more
Will AI Replace Software Engineers? Not If You Do This
The Way We Work
Remote Office, Real Visibility: Stand Out From Anywhere
Working from a remote office should mean more work life balance, less synchronous distraction, and a global career built on your terms. But ...
Read more
Remote Office, Real Visibility: Stand Out From Anywhere
The Future of Work
How AI-Led Remote Work Made Leadership Honest
Nominate a Remote Work Leader! The best place to hide bad management is at the office. At least – it used to be. But when the pandemic struc...
Read more
How AI-Led Remote Work Made Leadership Honest
EdTech
3 AI Home Schooling Programs to Try in 2026
The notion of a 'good school district' means nothing in the face of AI home schooling. The U.S. education system is buckling under chronic t...
Read more
3 AI Home Schooling Programs to Try in 2026
EdTech
7 AI in Education Statistics To Reshape Your Hiring Strategy
Fresh AI in education statistics have revealed a serious disconnect between traditional hiring and the types of teachers needed in the AI ag...
Read more
7 AI in Education Statistics To Reshape Your Hiring Strategy
EdTech
4 Top Private High Schools in the US Using AI
Every private school in the US claims to be 'future-ready.' But scroll past the glossy headers and you'll find the same classroom structure ...
Read more
4 Top Private High Schools in the US Using AI
EdTech
What Does AI in EdTech Look Like on the Ground?
Ask what AI in EdTech looks like in the classrooms, and you're likely to receive two radically different answers. The first comes from the c...
Read more
What Does AI in EdTech Look Like on the Ground?
Achieving Excellence
Startup Founders are Limiting Growth by Staying Locally Remote
Startup founders just LOVE to brag about being fully remote. But if everyone on your team still lives within door-dash distance, you’re not ...
Read more
Startup Founders are Limiting Growth by Staying Locally Remote
How to Crossover
Crossover’s Basic Fit Check [Official AI Screening Guide]
Are you fit for the role you’re applying for? We get it – our jobs are flexible, AI-forward and highly paid. Who wouldn’t want to apply to a...
Read more
Crossover’s Basic Fit Check [Official AI Screening Guide]
Building a Remote Workforce
3 Ways Remote Work Innovation Improves In-Person Work
Most people make the mistake of thinking remote work is ONLY about where you work. But they're missing the real workplace update happening r...
Read more
3 Ways Remote Work Innovation Improves In-Person Work
Achieving Excellence
7 Flexible Remote Work Hacks for Time-Poor Workers
Flexible remote work handed you back 3 precious hours from your old soul-crushing commute. But your days still feel like they're running on ...
Read more
7 Flexible Remote Work Hacks for Time-Poor Workers
Achieving Excellence
Why Your High Performing Brain Craves Stress (But Only the Right Kind)
Most people assume that road accidents happen because speed kills. Someone was driving too fast and tragedy strikes. But that’s only half th...
Read more
Why Your High Performing Brain Craves Stress (But Only the Right Kind)
Software Engineering
The Big 3 AI Tools for Software Development in 2026
There's some serious friction at play while trying to pick the right AI tools for software engineering for 2026. The problem isn’t a lack of...
Read more
The Big 3 AI Tools for Software Development in 2026
Software Engineering
Teaching Yourself How to Code (With An AI Study Partner)
Thinking of teaching yourself how to code? Smart move. Learning to code has historically been a seriously solid career choice. But the numbe...
Read more
Teaching Yourself How to Code (With An AI Study Partner)
The Future of Work
How to Survive the 2026 AI Skills Rollercoaster
Another AI-fueled tech shakeup is coming. If you’ve spoken to anyone working in local tech lately, you’ve heard the same exhausted confessio...
Read more
How to Survive the 2026 AI Skills Rollercoaster
Software Engineering
Will AI Replace Software Engineers? Not If You Do This
Will AI replace software engineers? This is the question hanging over the heads of every engineering team right now. Engineers have lived wi...
Read more
Will AI Replace Software Engineers? Not If You Do This
The Way We Work
Remote Office, Real Visibility: Stand Out From Anywhere
Working from a remote office should mean more work life balance, less synchronous distraction, and a global career built on your terms. But ...
Read more
Remote Office, Real Visibility: Stand Out From Anywhere
The Future of Work
How AI-Led Remote Work Made Leadership Honest
Nominate a Remote Work Leader! The best place to hide bad management is at the office. At least – it used to be. But when the pandemic struc...
Read more
How AI-Led Remote Work Made Leadership Honest
EdTech
3 AI Home Schooling Programs to Try in 2026
The notion of a 'good school district' means nothing in the face of AI home schooling. The U.S. education system is buckling under chronic t...
Read more
3 AI Home Schooling Programs to Try in 2026
EdTech
7 AI in Education Statistics To Reshape Your Hiring Strategy
Fresh AI in education statistics have revealed a serious disconnect between traditional hiring and the types of teachers needed in the AI ag...
Read more
7 AI in Education Statistics To Reshape Your Hiring Strategy
EdTech
4 Top Private High Schools in the US Using AI
Every private school in the US claims to be 'future-ready.' But scroll past the glossy headers and you'll find the same classroom structure ...
Read more
4 Top Private High Schools in the US Using AI
EdTech
What Does AI in EdTech Look Like on the Ground?
Ask what AI in EdTech looks like in the classrooms, and you're likely to receive two radically different answers. The first comes from the c...
Read more
What Does AI in EdTech Look Like on the Ground?
Achieving Excellence
Startup Founders are Limiting Growth by Staying Locally Remote
Startup founders just LOVE to brag about being fully remote. But if everyone on your team still lives within door-dash distance, you’re not ...
Read more
Startup Founders are Limiting Growth by Staying Locally Remote
How to Crossover
Crossover’s Basic Fit Check [Official AI Screening Guide]
Are you fit for the role you’re applying for? We get it – our jobs are flexible, AI-forward and highly paid. Who wouldn’t want to apply to a...
Read more
Crossover’s Basic Fit Check [Official AI Screening Guide]
Building a Remote Workforce
3 Ways Remote Work Innovation Improves In-Person Work
Most people make the mistake of thinking remote work is ONLY about where you work. But they're missing the real workplace update happening r...
Read more
3 Ways Remote Work Innovation Improves In-Person Work
Achieving Excellence
7 Flexible Remote Work Hacks for Time-Poor Workers
Flexible remote work handed you back 3 precious hours from your old soul-crushing commute. But your days still feel like they're running on ...
Read more
7 Flexible Remote Work Hacks for Time-Poor Workers
Achieving Excellence
Why Your High Performing Brain Craves Stress (But Only the Right Kind)
Most people assume that road accidents happen because speed kills. Someone was driving too fast and tragedy strikes. But that’s only half th...
Read more
Why Your High Performing Brain Craves Stress (But Only the Right Kind)
Software Engineering
The Big 3 AI Tools for Software Development in 2026
There's some serious friction at play while trying to pick the right AI tools for software engineering for 2026. The problem isn’t a lack of...
Read more
The Big 3 AI Tools for Software Development in 2026
Software Engineering
Teaching Yourself How to Code (With An AI Study Partner)
Thinking of teaching yourself how to code? Smart move. Learning to code has historically been a seriously solid career choice. But the numbe...
Read more
Teaching Yourself How to Code (With An AI Study Partner)
The Future of Work
How to Survive the 2026 AI Skills Rollercoaster
Another AI-fueled tech shakeup is coming. If you’ve spoken to anyone working in local tech lately, you’ve heard the same exhausted confessio...
Read more
How to Survive the 2026 AI Skills Rollercoaster
Software Engineering
Will AI Replace Software Engineers? Not If You Do This
Will AI replace software engineers? This is the question hanging over the heads of every engineering team right now. Engineers have lived wi...
Read more
Will AI Replace Software Engineers? Not If You Do This
previous
next
Crossover Logo White
Follow us on
Have a question?

Get answers to common questions using our smart chatbot Crosby.

HELP AND FAQs
  • Companies Hiring
  • Resources
  • About Crossover
  • What is WorkSmart?
  • High-Paying Remote Jobs
  • Reviews
  • Selection Process

Join the world's largest community of AI first Remote WorkersAI-first remote workers.

Find your dream job
Hire top talent
© Crossover, 2025
Website TermsContractor TermsPrivacy PolicyLegalCookie Settings