As people we find conflict in nearly all aspects of our lives. Specifically at work, conflict can take over our days, our moods, zap us of all our energy and turn teams against each other. The cause of the conflict can be many things but today I wanted to showcase those in the office that regularly go out of their way to spread rumors, send aggressive emails or otherwise pour gas on the fire for their own benefit. They’re called conflict entrepreneurs and today we’re going to talk about how to identify them and then discuss how we, as co-workers or managers, can positively change the professional relationship and improve the behavior.
Most of us, at one point or another, will have gripes and feel the need to criticize or disagree but it’s important to remember that positive or good conflict is healthy and encouraged. It promotes forward thinking and it pushes us to be better. A conflict entrepreneur on the other hand, continually causes dysfunction, behaves erratically and is quick to point out new problems and lay blame.
It may be difficult but once properly identified, don’t rush to aggression in an effort to make them look bad publicly or even in your own mind. Instead, spend time listening and understand the reasons behind the behavior. In many cases, there’s an opinion that wants to be heard and an opportunity for personal or professional growth. If you’re a manager you can try refocusing the negative energy into a task or responsibility that solves a company problem but also provides a small amount of power. It’s not a guaranteed solution but it may be enough to flip the mindset.
A healthy flow of ideas and disagreements is ideal but just like a sporting event, without rules, there’s penalties and chaos. Managers, work actively with your team to create guidelines to follow when there are issues to bring up. There’s no master list or one set that works for every company but here are 5 that should help your team start participating in “Good Conflict”
1. Focus on the problem, not the person
2. Do NOT participate in gossip
3. Ask genuine questions and be an active listener
4. If possible, bring solutions to the table
5. Reflect
Creating the rules with the team ensures buy in, solidifying an expectation of behavior and is usually enough to spur change. If not, that’s another difficult conversation. We’re always here to be a resource for you, feel free to reach out to us on any of our social media channels or shoot us an email.
Find us!
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/greenmountainlioncorp/
Facebook: facebook.com/grnmtnlion
Twitter: twitter.com/GrnMtnLion
Instagram: instagram.com/greenmountainlion/
Website: Greenmountainlioncorp.com
