As a business owner, you can’t ignore the role conflict plays in your business, and the workplace. The acceptance of conflict in business is essential to making the most of disputes between coworkers. By adopting a clear vision of conflict and its role in driving productivity, you can shift your workplace mindset from avoidance to collaboration.
This is the second in a four-part blog series on conflict resolution in business and what to do about it. In Conflict Resolution in Business Isn’t What You Think, we addressed common misconceptions about conflict resolution in business. Future posts will address improving one’s own ability to express and discuss conflict, and the secret sauce of conflict resolution.
Why You Can’t Ignore Conflict in the Workplace
It is a common misconception that conflict is always bad for business because it interferes with collaboration and reaching consensus. It is true that interpersonal conflict puts your employees at odds. If conflict goes unrecognized and unresolved, it can result in organizational dysfunction, resentment, and employee disengagement. This is why it is so important for business owners to take a proactive approach to facilitating conflict resolution.
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However, all too often, business owners turn a blind eye to the conflict in their workplaces. Supervisors may be unwilling to listen to their employees’ concerns. Or they may assume that their employees will sort things out themselves. In the worst cases, employees may be afraid to voice criticisms, for fear it will negatively affect their reputation, or their jobs. This can result in a workplace culture of conflict avoidance, masking unresolved conflict between workers. Employees may feel unable to trust their coworkers and superiors to treat their needs and feelings with respect.
The Upside to Conflict in Business
But there is also an upside to conflict in business. Without challenges, ideas and processes can be allowed to perpetuate, even if they aren’t the best solution. Conflict, in such cases, operates as a catalyst for improvement. By raising and resolving conflicts during the research and development stage, your team can collaborate to improve their product or service and further refine their practices, ultimately improving productivity and customer satisfaction.
Doing so requires accepting the presence and role of conflict in business. It means acknowledging the fact that different team members will have different opinions and approaches to the issues that arise in the workplace. In a conflict-healthy workplace, coworkers, managers, and even business owners trust that they are working toward the same goal, and that their opinions, and personal experiences, will be treated with respect. People may voice their disagreement without worry that their voice will be silenced.
Facilitated conflict resolution can help this process. By giving each individual a dedicated time and place to express their feelings, the facilitator can allow your employees to more fully develop their ideas and explain them more clearly. Then, the facilitator can bring the two (or more) sides together, in an environment of mutual trust, to work through the conflict and come to a meaningful resolution. Whether it is an interpersonal dispute or a conceptual disagreement, this process can further your team’s collaborative efforts and improve their ability to use conflict to improve your business.
David Stanislaw is leadership and executive coach with over 30 years’ experience helping managers and leaders manage teams effectively and resolve workplace conflict. Contact us to meet with David and bring on a thought partner for your business goals today.
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