Tips to Avoiding Conflicts at Work

Every Leader has, at some point, had to resolve a conflict with a co-worker or team member. It is part of being a Leader. You can't always be right, and you can't always explain your decisions to every member of the team at every moment to ensure that you don't "hurt people's feelings" as you go through your busy work day. But there are some things that Leaders can do that will gain their team's and their boss's respect.

Tell The Truth

No matter what happens, tell the truth! Don't exaggerate when things are good, and don't panic when things are bad, but gather your facts and explain what is happening outright. Good news makes everyone happy, but if you try to exaggerate how good you performed or your team performed, you may end up talking yourself into an impossible new goal or repeat performance. And bad news never gets better with age... telling the right people that something bad has occurred right away is better than letting anyone find out on their own or letting it worsen to the point that nothing can be done about it.

Take the Heat, Tansfer Praise to Your Team

Always be prepared to deal with your Superiors and shield your Team from the responsibility. Accept the responsibility for your Team's efforts. If your Team is not performing well, then you are not doing the right things to get them to work together or perform at the levels you want. There may need to be some retraining or counseling for better future performance. But if your boss chews you out for something not going quite right think hard about how to improve your own performance and your Team's performance without being negative about the issues. Your team will appreciate a candid assessment and offer you better solutions if they are informed without blame, guilt, or threats. Don't make your message to your team that any failure is their fault, not yours, or that they will get fired if they don't make you look good. I would submit that you are not leading the right way if that is your leadership style. That may get some results, but your team will always do only what they have to not to get fired or sell each other out when things don't get done. That breeds competition and deceitful behavior, not synergy of ideas and efforts. Take the approach that you as the Leader are responsible for all that your team does or doesn't accomplish, and that when they do well, it is the Team's efforts, not just your own, that made it all possible. If you do these things, your Team will be more cohesive and loyal to you and each other. It will be a pleasure to go to work, and your Team's ideas and productivity will be better.

Give Your Team Room To Make Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. Some are bigger than others, and mistakes that are repeated or too large to leave unchecked will have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. And there are steps to take towards correcting a person's performance that may lead to firing someone who cannot take responsibility for his or her actions enough to handle the job. But on a daily basis, there is a need for people to be challenged if they are going to get better. Unfortunately, the only way people truly learn a job is by doing it. And that means after your initial guidance or training, they are left to do it on their own. A good Leader will understand when people are doing things for the first time, they may need a little leeway to get it wrong. That means they may need a little special attention for a week or two to double check their work as well. But ultimately they will get the hang of new tasks and make their Leaders proud if they know that they can relax while they try their best to perform to standard.

Be Consistent

Punishing errors is part of a Leader's job, but it will be accepted best when it is applied reasonably across the board. A mentality of "working together" among your Team is key. And those who cannot pull their own weight must be taught or dismissed. However, there is a process to using the best attributes of each member of your Team and bringing out the best in each one. That process must be applied to each Team member taking into account their current abilities, the length of time they have worked in your Team, and their past performance. Resumes lie, people get lucky, but tracked and documented behavior and performance patterns cannot be denied. Each person's performance as a member of the Team can be evaluated on their achievment of their planned and documented performance goals. Get your Team members to set and agree to certain goals every quarter, and hold them to their goals. Don't be afraid to set realistic high-aiming  goals, and leave a little room for the unknown upon evaluation. However, always hold your Team members to their proven potential across the board and they will respect you and work hard for you as well.

Getting Through Conflict

Take these tips to heart and I know that you will be able to build a great Team of your own without many conflicts. But some conflicts will arise. It is up to the Leader to determine what is constructive disagreement and what is detrimental to the Team's overall mission and collective efforts. That is the tough spot that Leaders are paid the "big bucks" to decipher. But handled professionally, most disagreements don't need to escalate. If you find that you are being challenged at work all the time, take a step back and look at the conflicts by the facts. If you are taking things too personally, you could be the cause of the conflicts. If you are easily stressed or embarrassed, the best way to handle any disagreement is to try not to get too excited and ask your Boss or Team member to explain their side of the problem. Write down notes as they speak. Then tell them that you understand their issues, and you would like to discuss it after you have a minute to go over what they have said. Not all situations will allow the time for this, but you will be surprised how often you CAN do this! Most conflicts are caused by misunderstandings during heated debate. Don't allow yourself to become a victim of losing your head! Stay calm, and work through it. Your Boss and Team members will respect you for addressing them as human beings with good ideas, and for treating yourself with enough respect to not allow them to talk down to you.

Remember: Don't be afraid to ask for help, or guidance fom your boss, or from your collegues. And if you think it would help, don't be afraid to ask the question of experts outside of your business like those here at Amazing Leadership. Our coaching can be the difference between mediocre performance and Amazing performance on the job!