The “C” Word

Following a recent keynote speech someone in the elevator at the conference center commented to me that one of the items she found valuable was the idea of never using the word “criticism.”

In the workplace we have an obligation to help our peers, direct reports, and even supervisors to improve team performance through feedback. Too often these conversations start with the words “constructive criticism.”  Recipients of these words almost always will put up their self-defense barriers resulting in a high anxiety conflict bearing conversation that neither party enjoys or finds beneficial. Think constructive feedback or even coaching, but don’t think or say criticism.

Make feedback work for you and for your team!

- DEG

Workplace Conflict: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Conflict in the workplace is very common. Nearly anytime we have people interacting with other people, it isn’t long until some type of conflict develops. Is all conflict bad? Many experts believe that there are many different types or forms of conflict. When managing conflict we may discover that not all conflict is bad, in fact some believe that harmful conflict is really just mismanaged conflict.

The good, bad, and ugly sides of conflict can be described as follows:

Good – learning from conflict, new product or service breakthroughs, appropriate and well managed competition 

Bad – ignoring issues, not dealing with situations, criticizing and complaining instead of managing

Ugly – low morale, self protection behaviors, high employee absenteeism and turnover

Effectively managing conflict is the key to minimizing harmful workplace conflict. When working with employees and teams we should adopt a collaborating style to effectively manage conflict. This style which could be described as high on assertiveness and high on cooperativeness will likely produce good conflict when managing conflict situations. Unfortunately many organizations have employees, supervisors, and managers that quickly adopt an avoiding style to managing conflict. When we avoid managing conflict the outcomes are typically bad or ugly. Here are three tips for managing workplace conflict:

1. Master the skill of emotional self-control
2. Do not shut down or out, stay involved
3. Listen carefully – attempt to gain understanding of both sides

Conflict is natural and is not always bad. Employees who approach and manage conflict properly will discover that less time is wasted on dealing with people issues and more time is spent being productive. Are you effective at managing workplace conflict?

Technorati Tags: workplace conflict,managing conflict

Harmful Conflict Increasing?

A recent LinkedIn Poll suggests that harmful workplace conflict is on the rise!

Results from a recently posted poll may suggest that harmful workplace conflict is currently increasing in organizations. The polls appears as follows:

Harmful Workplace Conflict in my Organization is:
... increasing
... decreasing
... staying about the same
... not a problem/doesn’t exist

This poll originally posted on November 27, 2009 has had the following results:


42% increasing
35% staying about the same
14% decreasing
7% not a problem/doesn’t exist

Are you on LinkedIn? Take the poll/see updated results here.

Need help with harmful workplace conflict? Coaching and training sessions are available in both on-line and traditional face-to-face formats. Visit the website or contact me directly.

www.appreciativestrategies.com
dennis@appreciativestrategies.com

Tough Times Mean More Workplace Conflict

During times when many organizations are tightening their belt, some leaders believe conflict decreases, but does it? Watch this 2 minute video to learn more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPznQsR9wSs

Does conflict exist in your workplace?

U.S. Job Losses Mount - Conflict Increases

As U.S. job losses continue to mount, so does workplace conflict. Informal surveys have indicated that many experts believe workplace conflict continues to increase during difficult economic times. Some would perhaps argue the opposite. While our workplaces continue to be shattered by the economic downturn many employees will avoid expressing conflict or may suppress conflict feelings. Employers sometimes believe that this is good, noting that workers have stopped “whining” and are “getting back to business.” In one sense this may be true, but the consequences of conflict suppression are far more detrimental to the future of the organization. Employees who are suppressing conflict will tend to stop being team players, will avoid communication efforts, and may even purposely sabotage others pursuits of relationship building or production and service efforts. During these times it is often difficult to detect conflict situations at first glance, while we may feel a sense of teamwork (some whining has stopped) a far worse case scenario is occurring. When employees express conflict it is much easier for business leaders to recognize and take appropriate action. How is the conflict climate at your workplace?