Chapter Six - Conflict Advantage - Val Edwards

"We Wish We Had Known: Everyday Tips from Consultants to Grow Your Business."

#Conflict Management
#Team Management

VAL EDWARDS, MLS, NBCT

P2G Consulting | Conflict Mediator and Team Developer
p2gconsulting.com / val@p2gconsulting.com

Despite experiencing conflict in virtually every meeting, the prevalent response is avoidance. Avoidance is an ineffective means of addressing conflict and is a missed opportunity to improve outcomes. Unacknowledged and unaddressed, conflict will fester. Equipping yourself to recognize and respond to conflict allows your team to take advantage of conflict to improve outcomes, spotting weaknesses while strengthening relationships.

      Advantageous conflict highlights the need for change. Meetings, widely disliked by leaders and team members alike, provide an entry point for addressing communally felt conflict. The characteristics of an unproductive meeting (eye rolling, heavy sighs) can be traced to unheard voices and unaddressed conflict. Facilitators unwittingly accelerate conflict by allowing team members to interrupt, go off topic, arrive unprepared or disengage. Meetings with thoughtfully managed conflict (inviting constructive dissent) allow innovative ideas to be harnessed.

      Participation determines the success and outcomes of a meeting; all who are present share in this responsibility. If you engage in avoidant or disruptive behaviors (multitasking, side conversations) you must take responsibility for an unproductive meeting. If you have a differing perspective to share in a meeting, employ constructive avenues for voicing your concerns. If a colleague disagrees with your contribution, explore their thinking rather than refute it. The result will be more thoroughly analyzed strategies and greater potential for success.

      Meetings themselves are not the cause of conflict. A dysfunctional culture results in discussions devolving into conflict. Constructive conversations rely on a culture of trust and collegial respect. It must be safe to dissent. Train team members to listen and consider the perspectives of others.

      Damage is done when conflict escalates, and the essential advantage of innovation and growth is lost. Welcoming constructive dissent and exploring differing perspectives drives change, having a positive impact on organizational outcomes. Conflict is innovative!

LEARN to RECOGNIZE the signs of conflict (eye rolls, heavy sighs, interrupting) and PLAN to RESPOND when you observe signs of conflict:

• ●      Script and practice a “call in.”
• ○          Address eye roller, for example: “I’m hoping you have input that will help us develop this project.”
• ○          Try not to directly challenge or refer to the eye roll or sigh. Be invitational.
• ○          Anticipate and practice – do not rely on a “heat of the moment” response.
• ○          Anticipate a range of reactions (adherence to refusal).
• ●      Avoid escalating conflict. A refusal to be called in is best addressed with a private conversation.
• ○          Example: “What was your reaction to the proposal shared at the meeting? Do you have concerns that should be heard?”
• ○          Never assume you understand a colleague’s motivations or intentions

Welcoming dissenting ideas provides an advantage when strategic weaknesses are revealed and addressed. Constructive conflict strengthens outcomes and moves the team beyond prescribed or perceived boundaries.

AVOID INHIBITING MISPERCEPTIONS:

• ●      Don’t be reluctant to engage. Inviting input does not obligate you to adopt all suggestions.
• ●      Hearing, acknowledging, discussing and PERHAPS adapting ideas and alternate solutions is a trust builder and team strengthener.

Relieve anxiety about addressing conflict by finding a small entry point and planning the first step forward. Continue to test, plan and evaluate. You will make inroads, transforming your meeting into a constructive conversation that will strengthen the team outcomes.

VAL EDWARDS

P2G Consulting (Pulling2Gether) reflects Val’s commitment to unify team members and achieve organizational goals. Drawing on several decades spent developing professional relationships, building teams and mentoring colleagues, Val focuses on addressing workplace conflict and removing barriers to team success.

Navigating conflict relies on a framework of structured conversations between two or more colleagues leading to resolution. The process allows participants to work through personal, emotional reactions in their professional conversations and lays the foundation for preventing conflict from escalating in the future. The advantage is a newly developed understanding and movement toward resolution, strengthened relationships and improved progress on organizational goals.

Team training nurtures individual professional growth, addresses conflict and supports strategic planning and execution. Guided team efforts lead to clearly communicated expectations and desired outcomes, as well as concrete action plans for moving forward.

Val has led a variety of successful teams, one of which won a national award for its collaborative work. Positions on several local, state and national association boards have provided Val with extensive experience in trust building, collaboration and professional growth. Always eager to learn, Val tests the transferability of her practice to effectively scale conflict navigation strategies in a myriad of industries and settings.

Connect with Val to get the Conflict Advantage to address collegial conflict and move your organization’s teams toward a culture of trust and innovation.