The top three mistakes managers make in dealing with conflict in the workplace.
1. Ignoring the problem
Conflict is a natural and necessary aspect of professional and personal relationships. It is inevitable and, if handled properly, an important part of business and personal growth. As a manager or business owner you may think that you do not have time to deal with every little “spat” in your workplace. However, if you choose to ignore conflicts, you are choosing to ignore an opportunity to make your business better and stronger.
2. Assumptions
You know the old saying about assumptions. Don’t ever assume that you know what others are thinking and feeling. If you go into a dialogue with a resolution already in mind, you are missing the boat. The key is looking at Needs First – Solutions Later.
3. Jumping to compromise
There are two sisters in a kitchen and only one orange. Both of them want the orange. What could they do? Cut the orange in half, you say??
That's what they did. One sister went to the juicer and started to squeeze herself a drink, which turned out too small to satisfy. She then threw out the rind. The other sister, with some difficulty, began to grate the rind of her half of the orange to flavor a cake. She then threw out the juicy pulp. They both had only half an orange when, in effect, they could have had the whole orange.
This simple story illustrates the problem with compromise. The goal of resolving a conflict is NOT to compromise. Compromise is a lose-lose scenario. You are looking for a win-win! The key to finding the win-win is in communication. Get the parties together and have them each explain their needs, everyone might be surprised at what they learn.
Be aware, there is no one quick fix to every conflict. The key is to get everyone talking, openly, honestly, and without fear of retribution. As the manager, it is not up to you to resolve the issue, it is up to you to facilitate the dialogue so that the parties involved reach a solution together.
For more information on conflict resolution check out a free, full-length, preview of our Dialogues series.
Showing posts with label Team Building. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Team Building. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
7 Tips for Raising the Productivity of your Team
Top consultant Susan M. Heathfield, who serves as HR expert for the website About.com, suggests the following seven ways in which you can encourage positive, powerful self-expectations in the employees on your team.
1. Provide increasingly challenging assignments for your team members. (Make sure employees succeed at each level before moving forward.)
2. Enable each team member to participate in potentially successful projects that bring continuous improvement to the workplace.
3. Provide one-on-one coaching for your team members. (This coaching should emphasize improving what the employee does well rather than focusing on weaknesses.)
4. Provide developmental opportunities that reflect what the employee is interested in learning about.
5. Assign successful senior employees to play a developmental mentoring role with team members.
6. Hold frequent, positive verbal interactions with team members, and communicate consistently your firm belief in each employee's ability to perform the job. Keep feedback positive and developmental where possible.
7. Make sure team members receive consistent messages from other supervisory personnel. How you speak about employees to others powerfully molds their opinions.
Employee & Leadership Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools for increasing the productivity of you team.
1. Provide increasingly challenging assignments for your team members. (Make sure employees succeed at each level before moving forward.)
2. Enable each team member to participate in potentially successful projects that bring continuous improvement to the workplace.
3. Provide one-on-one coaching for your team members. (This coaching should emphasize improving what the employee does well rather than focusing on weaknesses.)
4. Provide developmental opportunities that reflect what the employee is interested in learning about.
5. Assign successful senior employees to play a developmental mentoring role with team members.
6. Hold frequent, positive verbal interactions with team members, and communicate consistently your firm belief in each employee's ability to perform the job. Keep feedback positive and developmental where possible.
7. Make sure team members receive consistent messages from other supervisory personnel. How you speak about employees to others powerfully molds their opinions.
Employee & Leadership Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools for increasing the productivity of you team.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
What 8 things do employees want?
Hint, money is not on the list...
This article was origianally printed in BLR's weekly newsletter.
Is money the key to retention and productivity? It helps, says the Christian Science Monitor's Marilyn Gardner, but it's not enough. Beyond pay and benefits lie eight key factors that influence "happiness" at work-factors that motivate workers and keep them at your organization. Here's our distillation of Gardner's eight factors, as found on the website, communityinvestmentnetwork.org.
1. Appreciation
Praise heads the list for many workers, and it doesn't cost the employer anything to provide it, says Gardner. A sincere thank you or a short note can mean a great deal.
2. Respect
Again there is no cost and a big payback. Respect plays out in letting people know that their work is appreciated, in treating them like adults, and in being fair in your dealings with them.
3. Trust
Trust is the action side of respect. People need guidance, but they need to know that their boss trusts them to be able to get a job done on their own.
4. Individual Growth
Today's workers-especially the Gen Y group-want training, want to take on new challenges, and want to advance based on their new abilities. Giving a raise without increasing responsibilities could actually backfire, notes Gardner. As one expert says, if you give more money to an unhappy employee, you end up with a wealthier unhappy employee.
5. Good Boss
It's the old saw: People don't leave companies, they leave bosses. In a recent Robert Half survey, Gardner notes that 1,000 Gen Y workers ranked "working with a manager I can respect and learn from" as the most important aspect of their work environment.
6. Compatible Co-workers
Working with people you enjoy is also very important, says Gardner. Spending the day-every day-with people you don't like does not make for a productive workplace.
7. Compatible Culture
Employees want a work environment that fits their needs. That could mean hard-driving, high paying, or it could mean high flexibility and significant attention to work/life balance.
8. A Sense of Purpose
People want to know that they are contributing to something worthwhile. They need to know what the organization's core purpose is and what it is trying to achieve. And then they need to know how their particular job fits into the whole.
One of the interesting things that Gardner discovered about employee "happiness" is that there is a disconnect between what managers think and what employees think about happiness at work.
Managers tend to think that salary and benefits are the main motivators, while workers consistently respond that factors such as those mentioned above are what's important. Successful organizations will find a good balance to retain their best people.
Employee Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools to use to improve employee engagement.
This article was origianally printed in BLR's weekly newsletter.
Is money the key to retention and productivity? It helps, says the Christian Science Monitor's Marilyn Gardner, but it's not enough. Beyond pay and benefits lie eight key factors that influence "happiness" at work-factors that motivate workers and keep them at your organization. Here's our distillation of Gardner's eight factors, as found on the website, communityinvestmentnetwork.org.
1. Appreciation
Praise heads the list for many workers, and it doesn't cost the employer anything to provide it, says Gardner. A sincere thank you or a short note can mean a great deal.
2. Respect
Again there is no cost and a big payback. Respect plays out in letting people know that their work is appreciated, in treating them like adults, and in being fair in your dealings with them.
3. Trust
Trust is the action side of respect. People need guidance, but they need to know that their boss trusts them to be able to get a job done on their own.
4. Individual Growth
Today's workers-especially the Gen Y group-want training, want to take on new challenges, and want to advance based on their new abilities. Giving a raise without increasing responsibilities could actually backfire, notes Gardner. As one expert says, if you give more money to an unhappy employee, you end up with a wealthier unhappy employee.
5. Good Boss
It's the old saw: People don't leave companies, they leave bosses. In a recent Robert Half survey, Gardner notes that 1,000 Gen Y workers ranked "working with a manager I can respect and learn from" as the most important aspect of their work environment.
6. Compatible Co-workers
Working with people you enjoy is also very important, says Gardner. Spending the day-every day-with people you don't like does not make for a productive workplace.
7. Compatible Culture
Employees want a work environment that fits their needs. That could mean hard-driving, high paying, or it could mean high flexibility and significant attention to work/life balance.
8. A Sense of Purpose
People want to know that they are contributing to something worthwhile. They need to know what the organization's core purpose is and what it is trying to achieve. And then they need to know how their particular job fits into the whole.
One of the interesting things that Gardner discovered about employee "happiness" is that there is a disconnect between what managers think and what employees think about happiness at work.
Managers tend to think that salary and benefits are the main motivators, while workers consistently respond that factors such as those mentioned above are what's important. Successful organizations will find a good balance to retain their best people.
Employee Training, Employee Assessments, and Team Building Activities are all great tools to use to improve employee engagement.
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