Business Conflict Resolution 2

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Business Conflict Resolution

By

Charles Wilson, Ph.D.

Conflict resolution absorbs 30 - 40% of a manager's or leaders time in the workplace. Youmay find that much of your time is taken up resolving personal or business conflicts. How canyou best deal with these conflicts and resolve the issues and save time for more productiveefforts?

What is Conflict?

Conflict occurs when two persons have opposing interests or goals that appear to beincompatible. These cause debates, arguments, fights, anxiety, hurt feelings, resistances tochange, rebellion, sabotage, or more. There can be a perceived incompatibility between twoindividuals in their:

Ideas and ParadigmsActions and BehaviorsBeliefs and AttitudesGoals

What can happen if you have unresolved conflict?

Conflict is a normal and natural part of our workplace and our personal lives. Conflict can behelpful in making changes within the home and work environment.

However, unresolved conflict can result in individuals having feelings and emotions thatinclude:

DissatisfactionUnhappinessHopelessness

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DepressionAnxietyAngerFearEtc.

In turn these feelings and emotions of the individuals can transform or evolve into behaviorscan cripple the interpersonal relationships of the parties involved:

Physical and emotional withdrawalResignation from jobsDissolution of personal relationsAggressionViolenceRebellionResistance

Etc.

Signs of conflict (by direct and indirect observations of behavioral activities) in your workplacecan include: backbiting, undermining activities of others, playing "the blame game",participating in non-productive meetings, creating tension in others, power brokering,withholding information, and sabotage.

Watch out for these signs (by direct and indirect observations of behavioral activities) and thentake appropriate actions to end the conflict. Often the answer is being pointed to by the veryissue of the conflict at hand the third alternative is often visible.

However, hard positioning (our personal paradigms, beliefs and values) generally will not alloweither of the involved persons to see their way to a collaborative win win solution.

Steps to Resolve Conflict

1. Be prepared

As a leader, you should be prepared to help resolve the conflict. First, you must understandthe situation, the people involved, and the rumors surrounding the situation. Practice the skillsof LSCPA. (Listen, Share, Clarify, Problem Solve, Act)

Do not allow yourself to get hooked into making or accepting others to make generalities, labelothers, or make assumptions. Focus on behaviors and performances and not onpersonalities. If you can see it and hear it you have just located a measurable action.

We know if you can measure it, you can change it. If you can change it, you can grow it.


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2. Do not judge

Do not judge one side or the other person involved in this conflict. Judging one person (ineither a positive or negative manner) will cloud your ability to resolve the conflict.

Focus instead on behavioral actions or situations as they directly involve undesiredperformances or behaviors specifically in relationship to the work environment or those ofinterpersonal relationships.

3. Find the source of conflict (mini RCA)

You must find the root cause of the conflict. The two persons involved in this conflict might betelling you symptoms and not the causes. Use your discernment to find the real source.

Pin point the specific behavior (s) or performance (s) involved that are undesirable. Performtest of validation for change is it legit to change this specific behavior or performance?

Measure the perceived behavior (s) or performance (s) problems by direct and/or indirectobservations. Analyze your recorded data. Ask again, is it still legit to make changes fromperceived undesired to desired state?

4. Be decisive

When you make a decision, make it so! It is far better to get the involved persons to come upwith potential change solutions to move the undesired behavior (s) or performance (s) to thedesired status.

This allows for personal commitments versus compliances. This is so because the solutionsare their ideas and not your demands.

Be decisive and resolve the conflict. From time to time (often due to the lack of maturity on thepart of those being asked to change) you may need to impose a solution.

Your decision or theirs, find a win-win and collaborative solution to the situation (s) that you arefaced with.

5. Remember to follow up

Follow-up with the parties to ensure the commitments they have agreed to be in fact goingforward as planned. Look for opportunity to provide specific and positive affirmations for thethings each are doing well with.

For the things we/they are not grasping fully, gently redirect their behavior (s) or performance(s). Do not blow smoke they will see through that thin veil every time and you will soon looseyour effectiveness as a coach, mentor, partner, etc.


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Business Conflict Resolution 2