|
 Admit
it, you've wanted
to say that at least once
to an employee!
We have some
other
approaches to consider...
As
managers, each one of us has the responsibility to jump in
and talk with employees about unacceptable performance or
behavior to get them back on track or transition them out of
the organization. Not our favorite thing to do, but letting
poor performance, coworker relationships, or employee
conduct continue can have a devastating effect on morale,
productivity, profitability...the list goes on. And guess
what? If you are the manager turning your head on the
situation, your employees won't respect you and your boss
will eventually view you as an ineffective leader. That
said, as humans we each have different approaches to
managing conflict, the key is knowing your preferred style:
the style that you automatically use when faced with a
problem in the workplace. Once you are aware of your
preferred style and other options to handling conflict, you
might find that your preferred style is not the best choice
in every situation.... another one of the styles might be a
better fit to get the results you are after.
So
let's acknowledge that conflict can and will happen at
work... in other words, it's inevitable. Which communication
style do you feel describes your typical approach to
resolving conflict?
n
AVOIDING: Always withdrawing from or sidestepping
the conflict; keeping disagreements to oneself; staying away
from conflicts entirely. (Not usually the best approach, but
sometimes the ideal choice)!
n
SMOOTHING: Giving in or accommodating the needs
of the other person(s) at the expense of one's own needs;
going along for the sake of agreement.
n
COMPETING: Win-Lose mentality; adversarial;
standing one's ground; not giving in on issues.
n
COMPROMISING: Reaching an acceptable solution;
giving up something to get something; trade-offs are
involved.
n
INTEGRATING: Goal-oriented solution to conflict;
reaching a decision that addresses the concerns of each
party arriving at a mutually beneficial solution.
Integrators understand that the other side of the story
might provide useful
information. They use open-ended questions to draw
information from the other party BEFORE deciding on a
measured response - and they do not focus on blame.
Any one
of these styles might be appropriate, depending on the
people involved and the situation at hand. Really
understanding these individual styles and impact of using
one or the other- or even a combination- will help you
refine your conflict management skills. |
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