No matter how well you navigate tricky conversations or counsel employees through conflict, there will always be complex workplace issues to deal with at some point in time. The way you deal with these challenges will have a significant impact on the atmosphere in your office. Will your workplace be a place where you and your colleagues can express themselves and work freely, or will it be a place that stifles innovation and operates based on fear and discipline? All workplaces are made up of flawed individuals who, despite their best efforts, will inevitably fail, struggle, or cause conflict in some way. Mistakes will be made, errors will be made, and people’s feelings may be hurt. A plan for responding to these events and mitigating the resulting fallout will put you on the path to a more peaceful and productive work environment.
When faced with difficult circumstances, consider implementing one or more of the five tried-and-true strategies listed below:
1. Develop a sense of patience.
It is recommended that when faced with a difficult situation such as a disgruntled employee or an uncooperative client that, you take a deep breath and listen to what they have to say. As soon as they have finished speaking, please take a brief moment to collect your thoughts; then, calmly restate what they have said to you and collaborate with them to find a satisfactory solution to all parties involved. In many cases, if you can make the person with whom you are interacting feel heard, the situation will de-escalate naturally on its own. People long to be recognized and valued, so when you patiently allow others in your immediate vicinity to air their grievances and vent their frustrations (even if they are unfounded or if you disagree with them), you are feeding the part of them that desires to be recognized and valued.
2. Increase your level of gratitude.
If you can cultivate an office culture of gratitude, you may be surprised at how much the attitudes of everyone in your workplace will improve as a result of your efforts. Recognizing your employees’ accomplishments and telling them regularly that you value their efforts will help them feel valued. They will often develop a spirit of excitement and congeniality that acts as a buffer against the minor, everyday inconveniences and irritations that can arise.
3. Take a Deep Breath and Do It
If you are the leader of your company, it is critical that you set an example for those who look up to you, even if it is tempting to sweep conflict under the rug – especially if you dislike disharmony. Instead of pretending that problems do not exist, face them head-on and confront them. As long as things are allowed to fester beneath the surface, the feelings of resentment and frustration will only grow in intensity.
Clients and employees who feel slighted or uncared for can quickly become disgruntled individuals who express their displeasure to others in a loud and obnoxious manner. This can result in a heavy fog of bitterness and backbiting, reducing productivity and interfering with work-life balance and harmony. The most effective way to stop this in its tracks is to confront problems head-on as soon as you become aware of their existence. Never allow them to develop into something large and uncomfortably large. If necessary, have a difficult conversation and get to the bottom of the situation as soon as possible.
4. Make a Sandwich Full of Positivity
Teachers and coaches have used this technique for decades because it is straightforward to learn and requires little practice or preparation to become proficient. First and foremost, you need to identify the issue, problem, or behavior that needs to be discussed or brought to the attention of someone. To construct the sandwich, first, decide what you will say before the difficult thing, and then determine what you will speak immediately after that difficult part of the conversation.
During the difficult but necessary correction, your actions continue to call out the person’s greatness while also affirming their importance to your company’s overall success. If, for example, you need to reprimand an employee for arriving late to work regularly, you may want to begin the conversation by emphasizing how important they are to the smooth operation of the office. Then you can talk about how important it is for them to be on time. In the following conversation, you could thank them for contributing to the team and conclude the discussion. Most people are eager to please and will respond positively to this process if given the opportunity.
5. Identify Individual Characteristics
Everyone has their personality and point of view; the more you can understand those around you – where they are coming from and how they see the world – the better you will be able to anticipate their reactions to situations and build them up in a positive manner. For example, in the case of a highly analytical employee who processes information slowly and methodically, you will know not to ask them to take the lead on projects that necessitate spontaneous and freewheeling thought.
A surefire way to foster a spirit of collaboration and positivity in your workplace is by setting people up for success or playing to their strengths. Consider having your team complete a personality assessment and then compile the results to share with the rest of the organization. In general, the better-equipped everyone is to collaborate effectively, the less likely it is that you will be called upon to resolve conflicts in the first place.
Consider beginning this week by assessing the personalities of everyone on your team and devising action plans for how you can best utilize each person’s unique strengths in the coming months.
I create a lot of simple and practical resources for my one-on-one clients when I’m working with them individually. When a problem or situation arises, I develop a resource tool to assist the client in achieving an even better outcome. In this instance, my business owner coaching client desired to hold better his support team accountable, so I developed a performance assessment tool for him. Having regular communication with each team member about their specific performance of what they are responsible for improves the team’s overall effectiveness. Each team member will feel good about their progress, and the business owner will feel more confident about the work being done, and the level of performance is achieved. Just as my clients have, you will benefit from implementing this straightforward and effective performance evaluation process for every member of your organization. It should be tailored to each individual on your team by their job description. Individual team members should personalize it for themselves, and you must approve it before others can use it. Schedule a meeting every 90 days to review progress in each area you are measuring and make necessary adjustments.
Please don’t Count on It; Results Count! and Live Life with No Regrets; How the Decisions We Make Impact Our Lives; The Work-Life Balance Emergency Kit, and many other subjects. Take advantage of a plethora of tried-and-true resources that are readily available to you to build the kind of business and life that you truly desire.