6 steps to quashing conflict in the workplace - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

6 steps to quashing conflict in the workplace - Viewpoint - careers advice blog When building a team, leaders must recognise that a range of personalities, styles and opinions can help your business become more innovative, provide a better service or product and boost the bottom line. Inevitably, however, these differences can sometimes lead to clashes between colleagues â€" especially in ultra-competitive industries such as sales. The reality is that sometimes personal enmities do surface in teams, slowing progress and rendering the team dysfunctional. Don’t lose hope when this happens, there are ways that you can resolve these tensions and, not just paper over the cracks, but build upon them. A bit of healthy competition Before I advise on how to diffuse conflict, I should first note that there are actually two or three benefits to a bit of friction between colleagues, as long as the rivalry doesn’t bubble over: Increased competition, and thus higher performance More fervent critique, and thus less errors A greater range of ideas, and thus more innovative solutions Harnessing these benefits and getting the balance right, however, is difficult. If certain individuals are particularly stubborn and uncompromising then progress is going to be hard. Here are six things that you can do: 1. Inspire open-mindedness Encourage a culture of open-mindedness A more open-minded business is both more productive and more innovative. It’s important that your team members are always willing and able to put personal enmity aside, so that there is a degree of respect amongst the team and colleagues can acknowledge a good idea when they see one. Encourage a culture of open-mindedness, where no idea is too ridiculous and everyone is encouraged to offer their opinion. You can do this by holding forums on important issues, and thanking everyone for their contributions. 2. Create a collective vision We all have individual career ambitions or five-year plans for how we see our professional life progressing. When working in a team environment, however, all of this needs to come second, especially when you’re the leader of the team. Individual progress is only possible if the business is performing well. Be selfless and your team will likely reciprocate. By this I mean spending time training your team, listening to their concerns, letting them take credit before you do and sacrificing your time for the collective good. You can also instil this ‘collective vision’ ethos into your team by discouraging individual working and breaking out of silos wherever possible. Facilitate cross-departmental meetings or seminars so everyone gets a better understanding of the bigger picture, and is able to see how closely their individual success is tied to that of the business. Your team should soon begin to realise that any rivalries they had with other personnel in the business need to be put aside in order to achieve any promotions or pay rises they might have had in mind. 3. Encourage constructive debates Cherish debates that are explorative and collaborative Having people who are unafraid to question you or other members of the team is one of the principal benefits of intra-team rivalry, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. Abraham Lincoln appointed three senior figures to  his cabinet who were never slow to question his or each other’s authority, and the country was a lot better off for it. You can make sure a cordial tone is maintained during moments like these by encouraging debates that are explorative and collaborative, and never argumentative â€" for this to work you need to have first succeeded with point one. If your team really struggles with compromise then you can resolve this by wielding your executive power as a leader, even though this will sometimes prove unpopular. It’s not recommended to pull rank too often, but when you have to, make it known that you’ve considered everyone’s opinions first. 4. Encourage a focus on the positives This is good general life advice, but is particularly practical when conflict arises. It’s very easy to identify bad features about someone and make those their defining characteristics, especially in the competitive workplace environment where we’re often under a lot of pressure â€" this is probably why you have conflict  in the first place. It’s a lot harder to focus on the good in someone, and create your impression of them around this. You can encourage your team to always see the best in other employees by making sure they’re always giving others the benefit of the doubt. Has someone adopted an ambiguous tone in an email which could be construed as rude? They probably weren’t aware and were just in a rush. Is someone running a couple of hours’ late in assisting another team member? They probably have a lot on their plate. This is another one which you can enact by leading through example. 5. Channel negative energy elsewhere Focus your employees animosity elsewhere, by introducing a common enemy It can sometimes be useful to dissolve intra-team conflict by focusing those members’ animosities elsewhere, and introducing a common enemy. It’s often the case that people aren’t really frustrated with one another, they just have a lot of pent-up energy and frustration that they need to release, and so they end up picking the closest colleague to do so. By introducing a common enemy for all of your team to channel their negative energy towards you can guarantee a more harmonious team environment. 6. Hang in there My final piece of advice would be to hang in there. Teams rarely click straight away, and it might just be the case that your team needs a bit of getting used to one another’s personalities and ways of working before they feel comfortable. To help your team gel you should schedule regular (monthly or so) informal meetings, during which you and your team can openly discuss current, pressing matters. It’s equally important that you’re bonding outside of the office â€" so organising social activities and ‘away days’ are an absolute must. This is the best way for your team members to find some common ground to build relationships upon. The greater good We can’t all get on with everyone, but when spending forty hours plus a week together it’s important that we at least try. A bit of intra-team rivalry has its benefits, however it’s important to manage this and ensure it doesn’t snowball into something greater and more destructive. Hopefully, with the above six  pointers, I’ve proved to you that there’s no reason why personal animosity should get in the way of business success. I hope you have found the above advice useful. Here are some other Viewpoint blogs to help you manage your workforce and progress your career: How to create an engaged workforce Your complete guide to shaping a special job spec What size company is the right fit for you? 5 things that motivate your employees more than money How to optimise your LinkedIn profile 11 ways to become more productive at work Do you know how and when to say no? Should I stay or should I go? How to know when its time to leave your job from Hays