Have you ever noticed that you click easily with some of your team members, while others drive you crazy?
Or, maybe you’ve experienced employees who work together like oil and water – never tiring of resisting each other and refusing to cooperate.
Whether due to personal or leadership experiences, you understand that conflict is inevitable in the workplace, because let’s face it, conflict is inevitable in relationships.
Conflict is simply the difference of opinions involving strong emotions, and whether we like it or not, conflict is a natural and (hopefully) healthy part of working together.
Unfortunately, conflict is often wrought with destructive behaviors and frequently results in unhealthy and damaging consequences, especially for businesses.
Even seemingly small conflicts can be costly to businesses – from lost productivity to the cost of employees leaving your organization.
Although it can be frightening to navigate conflict in the workplace, it doesn’t have to be a negative experience for your team and a drain on your company resources.
The most effective and dynamic teams are those in which members feel safe enough to disagree with one another – enabling them to engage in healthy conflict that actually boosts their effectiveness and productivity.
Read our Four Ways To Navigate Conflict In The Workplace below to discover how to curb destructive behaviors and effectively respond to conflict situations with your team.
Integrity HR consultants are trained professionals in the art of productive conflict. Give us a call at 877-753-0970 or contact us here if you’d like our help engaging your team in productive conflict.
Four Ways To Navigate Conflict In The Workplace
1. Know Your Conflict Style
What comes to mind when you think of conflict? What emotions do you typically feel during conflict? How do you respond to conflict situations?
Increasing your self-awareness around your own conflict behaviors is the primary tool for navigating conflict in the workplace more productively.
By knowing your own conflict style, you can identify and address the thoughts and behaviors you experience that lead to destructive conflict as well as the strengths you possess in addressing conflict effectively.
2. Understand Other Conflict Styles
Once you know your own conflict styles, it is much easier to identify how the conflict styles of others interact with your own.
While you cannot control how others respond to conflict, you can use your understanding of their style to adjust your behaviors to achieve productive results.
Understanding other conflict styles enables you to adapt your response to conflict situations and increase the effectiveness of your approach.
3. Recognize Conflict Influencers
Your interaction preferences, workstyle, and conflict behaviors all depend on a variety of factors unique to you.
Seek to recognize the factors that influence your own (and others!) conflict style like: the organizational culture, social culture, business atmosphere, personal experiences, or family dynamics.
Because conflict looks differently depending on each person and situation, there is no one-size-fits-all answer for approaching conflict situations productively. Having an awareness of how the conflict is influenced by these factors will help you to respond appropriately.
4. Embrace Conflict Tools
There are many tools for learning how to navigate destructive and productive conflict behaviors.
When you have the tools to transform your destructive conflict responses into productive conflict responses, you can positively impact your relationships, your team, and your business.
Consider implementing innovative conflict resolution tools, like the Everything DiSC Productive Conflict, in your workplace to improve your team’s relationships and results.
An Innovative Approach to Conflict Resolution In The Workplace
Do you want your team to engage in productive conflict, but are unsure where to start?
With Everything DiSC Productive Conflict®, participants discover how to manage their unhealthy conflict behaviors so they can navigate conflict productively.
The Everything DiSC Productive Conflict® session helps team members to discover their personal conflict style, including their destructive and productive tendencies.
The knowledge participants receive through the Everything DiSC® is highly personalized, helping each individual to increase in self-awareness and effectively respond to conflict situations.
As a part of the Everything DiSC Productive Conflict® session, participants will:
-Explore the destructive and productive conflict behaviors of each DiSC® style
-Understand how to manage their personal response to conflict situations
-Discover communication strategies for engaging in productive conflict with colleagues
It’s tempting to avoid uncomfortable conflict situations, but embracing a more effective solution increases the success of your team, your business, and your bottom line!
Watch this video to learn more about utilizing the Everything DiSC Productive Conflict® in your workplace to improve your team’s relationships and results.
Integrity HR consultants are trained professionals in the art of productive conflict. We are also an authorized partner of Everything DiSC®! Give us a call at 877-753-0970 or contact us here if you’d like our help engaging your team in productive conflict with the Everything DiSC® assessment or a separate training program.
