4 Essential Conflict Resolution Tactics for the Office
One of the hardest aspects of operating a functional and efficient business is reducing the amount of workplace conflict that arises among employees. Without strong leadership, communication skills, and a proper company culture, it can be difficult to establish a balance where all coworkers and employees are working in harmony with one another. If you happen to find yourself in a conflict situation while at the office, there are certain resolution practices that can be implemented in order to ensure the optimal outcome. Here are just a few ways you can reduce and mitigate conflict, and resolve the issue in an effective way:
Put Emotions Aside
One of the most detrimental things to a workplace conflict is allowing emotions to get in the way of good judgment, causing people to overreact and take things out of context. Allowing emotions to get in the way of efficient communications will ultimately lead to a lose-lose situation for all sides. By making a point to keep emotions out of the equation, it will allow for the conflict to be resolved in a more logical and coherent way, as opposed to letting emotions run rampant in the circumstance.
Promote Conflict as an Opportunity
Although an unorthodox practice, portraying the onset of conflict as an opportunity to grow and become more cohesive as a team is an effective way to mitigate conflicts. By depicting conflict situations as a means to understand one another in a better way, and work towards a solution that will help all parties and the company, this form of leadership will foster more constructive conversations when resolving the problem at hand. With every problem, comes a learning opportunity, and seeing it this way can greatly help in identifying solutions that will be comprehensively beneficial.
Show Empathy & Understand the Problem
One of the foremost problems when it comes to workplace conflicts is the idea or perception that one side is not being heard in context, and that the resolver of the problem may be taking one side or another. In doing so, showing empathy is the first step to ensure that all parties are not only understood in what they have to say, but that they know their considerations and concerns are being inherently taken into account. By acknowledging the problem from all angles, it will provide a more unbiased platform on which to make an effective decision that will benefit all individuals involved.
Focus on the Issue, Never the Individual
Among the worst things that any leader or manager in a company can do is single out individuals when a conflict arises. Doing so causes emotional and mental damage in the workplace, as concepts of favoritism and unfair treatment can arise. Instead of focusing on the people involved, these conflicts can be better resolved when the issue or problem is the only thing that is taken into consideration, rather than the traits or characteristics of certain individuals involved.
Overall, it is clear that workplace conflicts are something that arise for every business, and being able to effectively deal with these issues is the best way to ensure an efficient and productive company operation. By taking some of the conflict resolution tactics mentioned above, leaders or individuals involved in a problem at the office can step in and act as mediators and unbiased parties to the conflict at hand, and better resolve the issue in order to bring about more cohesion and understanding among all employees in the workplace.