Leadership Lessons: Resolving Conflict

Engaging Employees by Resolving Conflict "Those in conflict are unable to sustain a productive and stable exchange," according to Craig Rashkis, a mediator who has a master's degree in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. In his article Workplace Conflict and the Importance of Resolving Early, he explains that the amount of organizational resources spent on resolving workplace conflict early on is typically less than the resources used in just half a day of trial when defending a lawsuit. Perhaps more importantly, Rashkis lists benefits which include:

• Increased morale and productivity
  
• Greater employee loyalty
  
• Greater retention
  
• Clarification of organizational purpose and policy
  
• Increased profitability
  
• Better reputation
  
• Success through superior products and services
  

Some Perspective

Conflict is not always easy to identify and must be distinguished from disagreements which can be a part of enthusiastic discussion or caring for the situation at hand. Conflict is associated with anger and frustration.
Effective leaders work from a viewpoint that keeps diverse work teams centered and successful. They know how to use courage and resolve to achieve goals and work with others. It's fairly shocking that according to research of 840,000 employees from the U.S. and U.K., 43% of employees report being disengaged on the job by their third year of employment because they become discouraged or dissatisfied in some way. Conflict in the workplace can only add to this and further disengage employees.

When leaders start to identify and then deal with situations that seem to cause conflict, issues can be resolved fairly and effectively.

There has been much reported about the new and growing diversity in the workforce. As this continues to be a factor, leaders need to be trained to recognize that personality traits and ego can largely influence the initiation of conflict.

Being aware of this and having the right skills to recognize and deal with conflict quickly and effectively will address the root cause, rather than getting bogged down in inflammatory outbursts, irrational eruptions, and inappropriate behavior. Without early resolve, this can become a continual cycle leading to the disengagement-- that we've already defined-- and broken commitment to individual performance.

By using effective techniques in communication and management, leaders help team members understand other points of view in order to move beyond the conflict.

A Solution

Your organization can impact a more positive bottom line characterized by productivity and profitability by improving morale and creating more functional and engaged employees. As Rashkis indicates, "The single most important benefit of resolving workplace conflict early is avoiding its debilitating and potentially disastrous effects." Resolving Conflicts is a program by Vital Learning, offered in both a traditional classroom format or online, that can teach your managers and team leaders the skills to recognize and deal with potential conflict situations early. Some organizations use the blended learning approach using a combination of online and more traditional approaches to deliver the training.

Take this simple quiz to find out if your leaders have the right point of view to deal with conflict. My managers and team leaders...

1. Accept conflict as inevitable in all work situations and deal with it in order to maintain focus and productivity.
2. Recognize the positive and negative impacts of conflicts and leverage situations to everyone's advantage.
3. Distinguish between the two sources of conflict so that the situation can be resolved fairly and effectively.
4. Establish a cooperative atmosphere to resolve conflicts when they arise.

If you answered any of these with a "No", it is likely that your organization needs some work in this area create a more engaged and sustained workforce in productivity and loyalty to your organization.

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Essential Skills of Communicating" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

• Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
• Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
  
• Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
  
• Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
  
• Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
  
• Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
  
• Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
  
• And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org