Between team members
Some days will be the head feels very much like having a car full of kids on a long journey. Squabbles between co-workers, colleagues are doing their snack, customers complain about the food the way you chose, and the management complaining "Where Are We There Yet?" Always someone unhappy with something. But before you get up and scream "I have to stop this office ..." take a minute to read this recipe for resolving the conflict in your team. Tomorrow I will cover the conflict with people outside your team.
- Catch it early - Whether it is rolled over one eye at a meeting or a cynical e-mail, are the seeds of conflict generally visible long before the soldiers take up arms. Ignore the first signs of a feud will not make it more fun to defuse a later date. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict to start somewhere.
- Get the whole story - if your primary goal for the day look like an idiot, you get all wound up hesitating when Suzie says that Jane stole their idea. No matter how compelling story Suzie, you probably should interview some eyewitnesses and ask the accused for their version before the march in solitary confinement.
- Concentrate on the facts - If you gather facts about a conflict between your employees, putting a priority on your detective hat and a full picture of the substance of the case. Listen to people talk (with them, sold separately) and let them vent if they need, but do not get caught in the emotional aspects of the argument. Remember that your ultimate goal is to solve the problem, rather than escalate it, and you can only be effective if you can clearly see the facts. Concentrate on the "what" not "who"
- Determine the assessment of the impact - if you have the facts on the ground, whether you intervene or let the participants themselves have to fix it. Open Warfare for the team morale is poor, and it's definitely your job to communicate issues related to productivity or performance. But that is an interpersonal problem, you can only reiterate the importance of both parties that they have no real friends, they need professionals and leave it at that.
- Get Together - Once you have all the facts on the table and prepared to take action to collect the campfire (or at the negotiating table unless you have a campfire handy). It is easy to harm himself up and strutting about someone not to cut in front of you, but often simply to talk face to face the tensions and to a compromise. It may sound corny, but it is important to stress how much you value both the people involved. Someone will probably admit they were wrong to get settled, and it can be difficult in the ego. Your task is to focus on what is good for the team and hopefully take a consensus on the right path, to maintain correct the problem to.
- Keep Your Eye on the Prize - When you make a change, if resolving a conflict or some other objective is achieved, it should be in alignment with the vision of the team and organization. If Mike wants a project that is in conflict with the goals Steve, is your ultimate benchmark for the creation of a compromise has emerged with the key objectives of the team. Maybe Mike has discovered how to build a better mousetrap, in this case Steve's cat project setting is no longer building the best use of their time.
- Monitor the situation - from When all shake hands and you do not remove. You must be sure that your employees do more than talk about. Keep your eyes open to look at things in the coming months and at regular intervals to ensure that you do not grow to hide the problem went underground.
- The Last Resort - When you leave your brother at the side of the road somewhere dreamed it was not always a realistic option. As chief, you have (a choice even if there is a drastic solution) to eliminate the cause of the conflict by one or both of the employees.
