Tag: behavior
What Should a Leader Do When the Team’s in Conflict?
No matter what you’ve told your team members about working things out together, and how you’ve tried to address the underlying structural problems that can trigger conflict among co-workers, folks are still showing up in... Continue readingHow Much Can the Boss Do About Workplace Conflict?
Executives ask me frequently: Why do they have to get involved in their subordinates’ conflicts? Why don’t they just work these things out themselves like adults instead of acting like they’re in high school? After... Continue readingHow to Get Back to Business After a Conflict
After a conflict, when you’re working your way toward agreement, with mutual respect and the necessary data in hand, a kind of horse-trading often takes place: “I’m willing to compromise on these dates and give... Continue readingHow to Use Facts and Opinions to Defuse Conflict
Last week’s post on reconciliation in the midst of conflict, looked for mutually held purposes and values that opponents could use as a foundation for conversation, and encouraged the practice of focused listening and empathy... Continue readingHow to Use Shared Values and Empathy to Defuse Conflict
Last week’s post on workplace conflict looked at the impact of personal differences and style as well as the roles that different individuals might take in instigating or sustaining a conflict. The next step in... Continue readingWhy Conflict Happens at Work, and How You Can Think About It
We all experience conflict on the job. Just the act of trying to coordinate activities with others -- or, actually, any attempt at working together -- can trigger conflict, even if everyone involved cares about... Continue reading
Your Customers Don’t Want to Be Trapped by Your Silos
A customer arrives at a service department he visits frequently to take care of some account maintenance. Before he leaves, he asks the department receptionist if she can pass along a document to another department.... Continue reading
Are You Coaching? Or Just Waving Your Arms?
A lot of what passes for coaching -- in workplaces, in homes, even on kids’ sports teams -- is really just a lot of exhortations and fervent repetitions of normative statements. It doesn’t help the... Continue reading