When a group of people gets together time after time, it is inevitable for conflict to arise at a workplace. Conflict at work can happen between two employees, between the supervisor and the team he or she manages, or even among an entire team. As difficult as the disagreement might seem at the time, resolving it is very possible. As a matter of fact, by following a few key steps, companies can transform any sort of conflict at the workplace into collegiality. Here are just a few effective ways to resolve conflict within your business.
Embracing conflict
The first key step to take in order to face conflict at the workplace is to embrace conflict rather than pretend that nothing happened. Addressing the issue at hand head on will improve communication between employees or teams and will help avoid any sort of tension that might build up.
Talking and listening
Each person should freely express themselves and how they feel about the issue at hand without being interrupted at any time. Both sides should take time to listen to one another, as well as ask clarifying questions if need be. This strategy also gives individuals space to be clear and feel that their opinion matters. In addition to that, when addressing the disagreement, it is essential to focus on the problem, rather than the other person’s character.
Signaling the differences in opinion
Once both parties have invested in listening to one another, as well as trying to understand each other, the next step is signaling the contrasting point. Stating that there is an oppositional opinion allows the other side to mentally prepare themselves the different views.
Forgiving the other person
Another crucial thing to do is apologizing to the other person for any ill words or actions that occurred. On the other hand, it is also important to forgive the other side if they were the ones at fault. By doing so, hurt feelings will be acknowledged and mended, and grudges among colleagues will be avoided.
As smart, innovative, creative and phenomenal people can be, they can also prejudge, hurt each other’s feelings and have a lot of conflicts with one another. That being said, by embracing misunderstandings and sincerely dealing with them head on, conflicts at the workplace can certainly be transformed into collegiality.