Conflict is something most of us don’t like, especially in the workplace. But whenever there are people working together, there is going to be friction and disagreements. And when conflict happens, it doesn’t usually go away by itself.
In this episode of The Clarity Advisors Show, host Ken Trupke offers three tips for resolving conflict in the workplace and three tips for reducing conflict in the first place.
Timestamps
(00:20) Tips to resolve conflict in the workplace
(00:45) No. 1 – Breathe and relax
(02:50) No. 2 – Define the problem
(05:40) No. 3 – Communicate synchronously
(11:14) Bonus point – Give the benefit of the doubt.
(13:32) Tips to reduce conflict
(14:00) No. 1 – Be clear
(15:30) No. 2 – Check for common understanding
(18:00) No. 3 – Build relationships
(19:30) Summary of all six tips
Episode Quotes
“One way to start to counter some of those body responses is to just breathe … to relax … to try to lower the tension in your body so you’re not in that fight-or-flight mode.”
“Ask questions to try to understand what exactly we’re talking about because we want to move into problem solving mode and we can’t solve a problem that we haven’t defined.”
“Asynchronous communication is written, and I have to read it and interpret it. There’s no body language, and there’s no nonverbal communication. There’s none of that richness of communication that you get with those synchronous methods. Something is lost. And when there’s conflict, you want everything you can get.”
“When there’s conflict, we don’t disagree about everything. There’s probably a lot that we agree about and that we see it the same way. So let’s not blow it up, instead find those places we can have agreement.”
“It might turn out it’s not your fault, but start there. If it turns out it is, now you’re much more humble and the other person’s going to be willing to forgive and move forward, which is what we want. And if it’s not your fault, there’s nothing lost.”
“To reduce conflict, build relationships and get to know people so you’re not so frustrated. And when there is an issue, you know you’re going to work it out.”
Recommended Reading:
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Follow/Connect with Ken Trupke
