Ever seen an executive lose their calm and professional demeanor during a mild disagreement over the proper course of action? Ever found yourself struggling for self-control while your ideas are being opposed? These reactions, in and of themselves, are not necessarily shortcomings. Humans are hard-wired for a quick reaction to perceived threats, and fight almost always precedes flight (for the record, my flight mechanism is poorly developed).
I have never been a fan of ridged command and control culture, and especially find them lacking in professional services models featuring high customer contact. It is far better to manage these natural impulses than to try to Theory X them out.
Here is an excellent article by Judith Glaser of the Harvard Business Review to provides an explanation of brain activity under perceived threat some great guidance for managing the conflict environment.