• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Great Leadership by Dan
  • Blog
  • Popular
  • Recent
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Blog
  • Popular
  • Recent
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Blog
    • Popular
    • Recent
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×

    You are here Home » conflict

    A Leader’s Guide to Preventing and Dealing with Workplace Conflict

    Last updated on Apr 11, 2019 by Dan McCarthy · This post may contain affiliate links

    Most people can handle just about any amount and type of
    work that comes their way. It’s not the work that puts them over the edge – its
    conflict with coworkers!

    Conflict in the workplace – or anywhere - is inevitable. Conflict
    is part of being human. Some people are more comfortable with it than others,
    and some people tend to be “conflict carriers”.

    Ultimately, it’s part of a leader’s job to deal with
    workplace conflict head-on. Ignoring it will only make matters worse, and will
    eventually impact team productivity, results, employee satisfaction, and the leader’s
    reputation.

    Here are some ways to manage workplace conflict, so that
    little problems don’t fester into BIG problems:

    1.
    Make the ability to collaborate an expectation.
    Establishing
    expectations start with the hiring process. Are you looking to hire lone wolfs,
    or employees that can collaborate with others? If it’s the latter, than you
    need to ask questions that uncover how well the candidate gets along with their
    co-workers. Look for red flag answers like, “Well,
    I have very high
    standards, and
    sometimes get frustrated with others if they don’t meet those standards”.
    Which
    often translates to: “I thought my
    co-workers were idiots and we fought like cats and dogs.”
    Make the ability to collaborate a job expectation for all
    employees, reward it, and make it a condition for advancement.
      
    2.
    Recognize the difference between healthy and destructive conflict.

    Healthy conflict is making it OK to disagree, to debate the issue, challenge
    the process, and speak up. Destructive conflict is when it gets personal, gets
    in the way of working effectively, and has a negative impact on productivity,
    innovation, and ultimately, results.

    3.
    Don’t ignore it
    – look for little signs that can turn into big
    problems. A manager needs to be having regular one-on-ones with all direct
    reports, as well as regular team meetings. These are the opportunities to ask
    questions, listen, and watch for subtle clues of unhealthy conflict. Most
    employees won’t want to tattle of their co-workers or be seen as a complainer –
    but you might pick up that they are going out of their way to work with another
    employee. Point out your observation, and ask why.

    4. Be
    a role model with your peers.
    Many managers don’t
    understand the connection between how well they work with and talk about their
    fellow managers, and how well their own employees work together. Employees
    learn more from watching a manager’s behaviors than they do from what the
    manager says.

    5.
    Learn a conflict resolution methodology.
    Most people shy away from
    conflict because it’s often messy and painful. If you’re not good at something,
    or you don’t like it, you’ll most likely avoid it.

    However, if you learn and practice a consistent approach,
    you get good at it, and your world gets better as a result of dealing with it,
    then you’ll be more likely to seek out opportunities to deal with conflict.

    I’d recommend taking a course in conflict management or
    reading a good book, like Crucial
    Conversations.
    A good course or book will give you a framework and
    set of tools, which gives you the confidence to confront conflict in a
    constructive, deliberate way. You’ll also be able to coach employees how to
    handle their own conflicts.

    There are a lot of different conflict resolution models,
    but most of them have the following 5 elements:
                1. Stay
    calm and dealing with the emotions first
                2. State
    what is bothering you in a respectful and specific way
                3. Listen
    to the other person’s perspective for complete understanding
                4. Problem
    solving – look for root causes and win-win solutions
                5. Agree
    on actions to be taken, and making mutual commitments

    Any new skill takes time and practice before we get
    comfortable with it. The important thing is to have the right intention – which
    is to resolve the conflict, not to
    punish the other person.

    6.
    Help your employees with their conflicts.
    Once you’ve learned
    how to handle your own conflicts, you can help your employees deal with their
    conflicts. There are two ways to do this – teach them a methodology (or have
    them learn the same way you did) so that they can handle on their own. In fact,
    some managers and experts say this is the only approach a manager should take –
    that is, they should never get
    involved in a conflict between two of their employees. While I can see the
    value of encouraging employees to handle their own conflicts without having to
    “run to Dad or Mom”, I still think are times when a manager needs to step in.

    However – it’s important that the manager doesn’t get
    caught in the middle by having individual conversations with each employee and
    trying to mediate. Instead, the manager should sit down with both employees and
    coach the employees through the conflict resolution process.

    Learn to proactively eliminate destructive conflict and
    deal with it before it gets out of control and everyone will be able to focus
    on their work, and not get caught up in unproductive and stressful workplace
    drama.

    « Lead, Don’t Manage, Knowledge Workers
    Right Leadership, Right Model »
    AFTER ENTRY

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    dan-mccarthy-great-leadership-by-dan

    About Dan

    Dan is an expert in leadership and management development. For over 20 years Dan has helped thousands of leaders and aspiring leaders improve their leadership capabilities. Read More

    ebook-dan-mccarthy

    Trending:

    • Top 12 Development Goals for Leaders
    • How to Write a Great Individual Development Plan (IDP)
    • 25 Great Leadership Development Quotes
    • The Performance and Potential Matrix (9 Box Model) – an Update

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Home
    • About
    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022

    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy