In July of 2006, Enlightened Leadership Solutions referenced a Cornell University study, as reported in FSB (Fortune Small Business) Magazine, suggesting that a key deterrent to organizational performance is “Letting Conflicts Fester.” This topic is still very relevant today and is an important part of business leadership development.
The article states, “Bringing tensions out into the open and then resolving them is one of a team leader’s most important jobs.” (We agree.) “The more creative a leader can be the more likely that conflict can be discussed and resolved,” they went on to say. We see that last sentence as the challenge. What does “being creative” look like in a particular situation? Almost by definition, being creative doesn’t have any particular structure. That makes it potentially complex and difficult. Success is way to dependent upon “being creative,” which has a lot of variability among people.
Our book, Making Managers into Leaders, provides a simple approach to dealing with this difficult challenge of conflict resolution. Here is an example from the book of the process being used. It begins on page 137 in chapter 11 of the book:
Conflict Resolution
Susan Dixon, an assistant principal attending a workshop, reported that she needed to deal with a sensitive situation that afternoon involving two co-teachers. Although the two had been good friends, the relationship had deteriorated and was beginning to impact the quality of their teaching with even parents showing concern.
She had scheduled a meeting with the quarreling teachers for that afternoon. Having been introduced to the Framework in the morning, she thought it might have a chance of working – at least better than any other ideas she had!
Susan set the context for the meeting by sharing that she had some reasons to be concerned about the teacher’s relationship and how it was affecting the students. She suggested that she wanted to facilitate a specific discussion. After reminding the teachers that they had been good friends, she jumped into the process by asking, “What are some of the things each of you appreciates about the other?”
There was a long silence before one teacher acknowledged the other for something she appreciated. The other teacher was then motivated to share something good about her co-teacher. A series of “what else?‚” questions was key here. As they loosened up, the comments and responses got stronger and deeper as they gradually shifted their mindset back to what they really appreciated about each other. Occasionally, Susan would say, “Say more about that” or something similar to encourage depth and sincerity.
By this time, the statements were quite positive and elevated. The co-workers were remembering what they had appreciated about each other all along. Because of a recent conflict, which did not need to be discussed at all, they had been distracted and had lost focus of the more important aspects of their relationship.
Now that they were back on track, Susan asked, “What is your common goal here?‚” (Step 3) It only took a split second for both of them to jump in and confirm that it was, indeed, to provide the best possible education for their students.
“It’s certainly clear to me that you have the right goal” Susan said. “What are some things each of you can do to make sure you are accomplishing that goal?” As they responded to this question, there was a whole different level of energy, enthusiasm and focus. They were back in a friendly relationship and moving forward together again.
Back in Doug’s session the next day, Susan reported that the last she saw of them, they were walking arm in arm down the hallway energetically discussing plans to promote a great learning environment in their classroom. ”
We would suggest that, while creativity is great, having a simple process to fall back on makes management challenges a lot easier to deal with.
Warm regards,
Ed
