Managing Conflict » How to respond to workplace conflict

Sitting in Judgment On Others – Ground Zero of Workplace Conflict

Carol Bowser — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:50:27 +0000

There is something delicious about sitting in judgment of others.

I was having coffee with someone last week and the subject of judging others came up.

It got me thinking….why do we sit in judgment of others?

Is it because it is part of our job description?

Is it because we like being “right” and telling others that they are “wrong” or at least “not as right as we are?”

More importantly, what is the impact on us, the workplace, and our peers when we sit in judgment of others AND do so inappropriately?

What I mean by “inappropriately“?

Let me paint a picture…You are working hard. Someone says something to you that YOU find dumb, insensitive, or whacked. You make a determination about that person’s character and competence BUT you never check it out to see if the person INTENDED to mean, insensitive or whacked.

As a result, your working relationship changes for the worse.

I will bet for those people with whom you have a poor working relationship that you can point to an exact moment when the relationship went downhill.

Now take 5 seconds to evaluate if you ever checked in with the person to verify if they did indeed INTEND to damage you or the working relationship. If you didn’t verify their intention then you may have inappropriately sat in judgment.

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Monkey Brains, the Economy, & Workplace Conflict: Tips for Managing Tense Workplaces

Carol Bowser — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:50:01 +0000

A colleague just sent me a link to a CNN article that says employees are too afraid to take vacation-because they are afraid that during any time away from work their employer will discover that the job can be done with out them. (Here is the link )

Fear has taken hold-the Monkey Brain has taken over. The Monkey Brain is that part of us where the fear response lives. The Monkey Brain engages and creativity dies, logic dies, freak-outs thrive.

So what can you do? Simple. Tame the Monkey.

The Monkey Brain is triggered by threats. In the working world that is down turns in the economy, lay off’s, performance reviews, restructuring, escalating tension, cut-backs, mergers, and bankruptcies.

I find that the common denominator is a feeling of lack of meaningful control and a sense of “I don’t know what I can do here!!!!!!” This feeling of lack of control often hides behind “IT’s NOT FAIR!!!”

Have honest conversations.

Name the elephant in the room.

It is OK to tell people that you don’t know or that you aren’t at liberty to tell them

No one really knows everything that is going on. Do your best to share what information you can. Avoid-like the plague-speculating. It doesn’t help and only serves to increase tension.

Ask people what they would like to have happen. They may not know or what they want is not with in your power to deliver. Just get folks to start talking. It is your best Monkey taming technique.

If you want more tips- please visit www.managingconflict.com and check out the enews archive page for articles and action tools.

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Work Does Matter-Radio Show: How to Handle Workplace Conflict

Carol Bowser — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:28:15 +0000

Earlier this month, I was a guest on Denise Rubin’s Radio Program Work Does Matter. It was a great conversation about how to handle workplace conflict, the definition of “hackles”, and tactics that work. Give it a listen via the Work Does Matter Web site. Tell me what you think. Really. I know that some of you do have differenct opinions.

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Top 10 (Hidden) Sources of Workplace Conflict

Carol Bowser — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:14:46 +0000

The causes of work place conflict are there- You just need to know what to look for

The International Association of Business Communication asked me to contribute to their CW Bulletin: Effective Conflict Management. There are some great article there by folks, like me, who are geeks for conflict.

I chose to write on teh Top 10 (Hidden) Sources of Workplace Conflict. Here is an excerpt of the article. For the full article check out the CW Bulletin.

“The best internal communication systems can break down. The top performers can be a pain when they push for their own agendas and timelines. Even the “Best Places to Work” suffer from workplace conflict. Unless the hidden sources that cause and escalate the tension and conflict are addressed, bad things happen: conflict escalates; people suffer; managers lose credibility; business suffers.
The pain of unresolved conflict can be avoided – but only if the source of the conflict is addressed. Here are the Top 10 hidden escalators of conflict at work, how to recognize them, and what to do about them.”

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7 Tips to Resolve Workplace Conflict From Negotiation Expert Jeanette Nyden

Carol Bowser — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:02:41 +0000

Some times dealing with conflict is a negotation. Here are some tips that negotiation expert Jeanetter Nyden shared via her newsletter. I

Jeanette Nyden

thought “Wow! This can be easily transferable to folks dealing with workplace tension and conflict!” So here you are! If you would like more negotiation tips, visit Jeanette’s web site www.jnyden.com. She also has a book coming out Negotiation Rules! A Practical Approach to Big Deal Negotiations.

Best Practice #1 Get past needing to compete

Competition, while a part of the negotiation process, can destroy long-term relationships, which in turn can destroy your bottom line. Therefore, you must be able to balance competition against the desire to foster long term relationships.

Best Practice #2 Get down to the real issue

Separate the real issue the driving force of the negotiation�from the all the less important issues that take up time. People lose valuable time and money chasing after non-mission-critical issues.

Best Practice #3 Know and use your leverage

Business people must know and use their leverage. Leverage is your ability to get a deal on your terms. If you want a deal on your terms, you must know and appropriately use your leverage.

Best Practice #4 Don’t assume that people will act in rational ways

You cannot use rational arguments with people who have an emotional charge. It just doesn�t work. Address the emotional argument. If it is not your strength, then find someone for whom it is.

Best Practice #5 Things are not black and white.

Americans in particular like to talk in terms of the bottom line, bullet points and principles. The reality of the situation is that what you are negotiating is not likely a black and white issue. There will be nuances and shades of gray.�
Best Practice #6 Don’t let bad things linger

This piece of advice got the most laughs as they all remembered times when matters got really ugly. Matters just get worse the longer they linger. They don’t go away.
Best Practice #7 Let bygones be bygones.

People make mistakes. People also do really stupid things, like denying responsibility for their obvious mistakes. For the good of business, it is wise to let bygones be bygones.

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Blog Talk Radio Program -Managing Conflict in the Workplace

Carol Bowser — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:11:33 +0000

Join me on June 3 at 3 pm Pacific time. I will be the guest of Larry Kaminer, President of The Personal Safety Training Group (www.personalsafetygroup.com )for Blog Talk Radio Live Call in Program Managing Conflict in the Workplace. We will talk about:

Early recognition of tension, conflict, and potential violence in the workplace and the impact of gender on workplace conflict and resolution. Cool stuff that you really need to know.

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Poking the Hornets Nest- How Motorola Let Emotions Get in the Way

Carol Bowser — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:41:41 +0000

“Sometimes emotions get in the way of judgment.” So says Richard Robbins, an Atlanta based employment law attorney. Robbins comments were based on the Wrongful Termination lawsuit that former Motorola CFO has brought.

Here is the short version. Motorola CFO made remarks during a Board meeting intending to rally the Board to action. It worked, but the Hornets went after him instead. The very next day, he was fired. He now is suing. So whose emotions got in the way of judgment? My educated guess is everyone’s over a long period of time.

For more of the details check out this article on Corporate Counsel Center . Frankly, I find it somewhat refreshing that SOMEONE has acknoweldged that emotions can impact decisions and that a breakdown of a working relationship can and DOES lead to bad stuff happening—even in the C Suite.

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The Flip Side of Same Coin: Employee Conflict – Employee Recognition.

Carol Bowser — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:19:15 +0000

Conflict, conflict, conflict. I love conflict. It is amazing what lengths managers and companies go to to avoid addressing conflict. I regularly attend a local Recognition Roundtable sponsored by Recognition Works. Simply, it is an informal gathering of employees who are trying to create or sustain recognition programs. Why do I go? Because sometimes -well … often – employees and managers mistakenly try to use a recognition program to address a workplace conflict issue.

Workplace conflict and tension cannot be resolved by implementing an employee recognition program – unless the cause of the problem is lack of recognition and appreciation. Otherwise, time, effort and $$$ are wasted on the wrong solution.

So what do conflict and recognition have in common? When done well, there is an increased sense of well being and engagement in the workforce. WHY? Because recognition involves acknowledging the needs and values of the employees and managers. SO DOES RESOLVING WORKPLACE CONFLICT.

Here are some statistics that show the importance of recognition. When I see these stats, I think how easy it is to improve the workplace and how easy it is to spoil the workplace.

1. 91% of employees ranked "recognition for a job well done" as important for motivation. Recognition Professionals International (RPI)

2. 79% of employees who quit their jobs cite "lack of appreciation" as the #1 reason for leaving. Jackson Organization

3. Managers are the single largest influence on employee retention and productivity. Gallup Organization

4. 65% disagreed with the following statement: "My supervisor does a good job recognizing my accomplishments." RPI

5. Training managers on the right way to deliver recognition increases recognition usage by more than 30 percent – which has a direct impact on employee retention and engagement. Dose of Recognition Newsletter, Gostick & Elton

6. 30% of employees improve performance after being criticized. 90% improve performance after being praised. J. Pfeffer, Stanford School of Business

7. As the economy improves, 83% of employees indicate they plan to look for a new job; 34% of those are your top performers. SHRM

8. It takes an average of 2.5 times a person’s salary to find a replacement. Sharon Jordan Evans, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em

9. Companies that have a thriving employee recognition strategy are more profitable – outperforming S&P 500 companies by 30-40%. Contented Cows Give Better Milk

10. Companies that have an employee recognition strategy have 50% less turnover than companies that don’t recognize their employees. Contented Cows Give Better Milk

11. In 2006, "recognition & trust" were identified as key factors in creating and sustaining a positive work culture in the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Fortune Magazine

Compiled by Recognition Works

www.recognitionworks.net

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Top 10 List How to Help Employees, Peers & Yourself in Times of Turbulence

Carol Bowser — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:58:32 +0000

1. Name the elephant in the room – yours & theirs. Acknowledge out loud that you and others are worried. It is a WASTE of emotional and psychological energy to either pretend the elephant doesn’t exist or to ignore it.

2. Avoid the blame game. Self-righteousness keeps feelings of victimization on life support.

3. Recognize that people really can’t compartmentalize their emotional states. Happy, sad, stressed – one area of our life will seep into others.

4. Stress, concern, and increased tension will cause people to have a short fuse. Expect more arguments and push back at work-but in strange and unexpected areas. Help peers and yourself. A re you angry at the person or task in front of you-or is it just a convenient target? (For action tools to address this check out The case of the convenient victim as well as the reply in the Feedback section of the next enews. )

5. If you are targeted, attempt to recognize it as the person’s way of expressing frustration.

6. Anger is an energy-redirect the energy. Take a walk. Take up kick boxing, write in a journal, have a 5 minute pity party, clean your workspace, jump up and down.

7. 60 second vent-write down everything that is pissing you off, irritating you or otherwise is “just not fair”. Cross out what is outside your immediate influence or it will take more time and emotional energy than you have this week. Determine what is within your circle of influence. Don’t ruminate over the rest.

8. Create best case-worst case & most likely case scenarios. Have an action plan for each.

9. Think of 10 things that you are grateful for – write those on 10 sticky notes and post them around your work space.

10. Then pick 1 thing that you can do something about and do just one small thing.

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Avoiding Claims of Workplace Harassment-Gender Differences at Work

Carol Bowser — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:19:00 +0000

In the traditional models of male group dynamics the new members of the group undergo some form of hazing to “earn” their way into the group. Once “in” the group, the new guy is made the butt of jokes or “given grief” as a demonstration of his belonging.
Ask a women the last time, she felt “in” when she was made the butt of a joke. To the average female, being made the object of exclusion or ridicule is the exact opposite of belonging and a BIG BLINKING SIGNAL THAT SHE STOP TRYING TO BECOME PART OF THE GROUP BECAUSE-for whatever reason- SHE IS NOT WELCOME. In the workplace, the worst thing is to be viewed as disengaged or “not team player”.

In life, it is awful to feel purposefully excluded and have no control to “get back into the game.” What maybe intended as a sign of inclusion-kidding around, target of practical jokes-teasing maybe perceived as harassment, retaliation or purposeful exclusion. NOT what is desired in the workplace for full engagement.

Think about it. Then take a look around. How does your workgroup let individuals know that they are “Teamplayers”? How do you? Is this based on “the way we have always done it?” Is it possible that your method falls into either a “male” or “female” model?

If so, have there been any unintended consequences??

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