Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









Workplace Conflict Resolution: A Practical Guide

Written by: Liz Bywater

Article Overview: When it comes to conflict, it’s pretty easy to take a bad situation and make it even worse. We say the wrong thing, in the wrong way, at the wrong time. Our emotions get the best of us and pretty soon things have spiraled out of control. With a little thought and planning, however, you can effectively work out problems with coworkers, clients, family, and friends. The next time you’re engaged in a quarrel or dispute, try the following approach:

Free Download - Lead Your Team to Top Performance! By Liz Bywater
Name: Email:

Workplace Conflict Resolution: A Practical Guide

When it comes to conflict, it’s pretty easy to take a bad situation and make it even worse. We say the wrong thing, in the wrong way, at the wrong time. Our emotions get the best of us and pretty soon things have spiraled out of control. It is possible, however, to take a strategic approach to conflict resolution. With a little thought and planning, you can effectively work out problems with coworkers, clients, family, and friends. The next time you’re engaged in a quarrel or dispute, try the following two-step approach:

Step one: Assess the situation. Ask yourself three key questions:
1. Is there a real issue here? Or am I making a big deal over nothing? Could I be misinterpreting or overreacting to the situation?

2. What’s the issue? Sometimes the overt disagreement is not the same as the underlying problem. Dig deep enough to discover the true issue.

3. Is it worth pursuing? Is this a one-time situation or a chronic problem? Is it disruptive to my work or merely annoying? Maybe I should simply let it go.

Let’s use a real-world example to bring this concept to life. Several years ago, I was sitting in my parked car in the lot of a local shopping mall. I happened to have a sleeping child in the back seat. (For those of you with children or grandchildren, you know the sage advice: Never wake a sleeping baby!) As I waited for my daughter to finish her nap, I suddenly heard and felt a scraping across the passenger side of my car. A station wagon had pulled into the spot next to mine - and taken a line of paint off the entire side of my car in the process. For some undisclosed reason, the driver of the car refused my request to write down her insurance information. When I walked to the front of her vehicle to see her license plate, she stretched her arms across front of the car in order to block my view. Strange, I know, but true.

So, let’s assess the situation.
1. Is there a real issue here? Yes, without a doubt. This is not a case of me overreacting or making something out of nothing.

2. What’s the issue? Someone has damaged my property and refused to take responsibility for it.

3. Is it worth pursuing? Yes, absolutely. I need the other driver’s information so that she or her insurance company can cover the cost of repairing my vehicle.

Step two: Make a choice. How can you best handle the problem? Possibilities include:
1. Let it go. Maybe it’s not a big deal after all. Perhaps it’s minor in the context of your overall relationship with the other party. Or hey, maybe the other guy was right after all.

2. Work it out. Talk to the other person. Get her side of the story. Be receptive and respectful. Look for areas of agreement and seek out a reasonable compromise.

3. Enlist the help of a third party. This is the right approach when you’ve been unsuccessful in your efforts to work it out with the other party and you aren’t willing to simply let it go. In this circumstance, you may need to involve someone with the authority to mandate a solution.

In the incident described above, I ultimately chose to enlist the help of my local police department. I wasn’t willing to let it go, couldn’t work it out directly with the other driver and needed the assistance of someone with the authority to mandate a solution. A report was filed, my car got repaired and the damages were paid by the other driver’s insurance company. Conflict resolved.

Related Articles
  Boot Camp Training for Conflict Resolution Skills
  The Conflict Transformation of a Leader
  6.6 Strengthening of institutions: Economic Report on Africa 2007
  Conflict Resolution
  The Good Part of Conflict in the Workplace

Home > Small-Business-Consulting > Liz Bywater > Workplace Conflict Resolution A Practical Guide
Article Tags: back seat, bad situation, chronic problem, conflict resolution, coworkers, disagreement, grandchildren, license plate, quarrel, sage advice, shopping mall, sleeping baby, sleeping child, station wagon, step approach, time situation, true issue, undisclosed reason, wrong time, wrong way

About the Author: Liz Bywater
RSS for Liz's articles - Visit Liz's website

Dr. Liz Bywater is a highly respected career success coach and corporate consultant. As president of Bywater Consulting Group, she assists her clients through private career consultation, executive coaching and leadership development, career transition coaching, pre-hire assessment, team development, management training, workshop facilitation and keynote speaking. Liz is internationally recognized for her expertise in workplace performance and leadership excellence. As such, she has been interviewed for radio as well as print and online media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the NY Times, Crain's Business, USA Today, Yahoo! HotJobs and more. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Cornell Entrepreneur Network, and the Society for the Advancement of Consulting. You can follow Liz's Career Success blog here: http://bywatercareersuccess.blogspot.com. For more information, visit http://www.bywaterconsultinggroup.com. To sign up for Liz's free e-newsletter, filled with tips for improving individual, team, and organizational performance, send an email to info@bywaterconsultinggroup.com. Or call toll free: 800.846.4546.

Click here to visit Liz's website
Dashed Line

Career Success with Liz Bywater
More from Liz Bywater
Workplace Conflict Resolution A Practical Guide
Workplace Communication 201 Its What You Say AND How You Say It
The Art of Leadership Part One
Lead Your Team to Top Performance
Choosing a Coach


Related Forum Posts
Re: New Year Resolutions... Re: New Year Resolutions... - My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.
Re: New Year Resolutions... Re: New Year Resolutions... - [quote="Alan Mater":2acona1t]My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.[/quote:2acona1t] Hi Alan, Do you mean $500+ per month? And when you're selling items on eBay from a reputable dropshipper... do you think it's still important to pick a product you're passionate about (like what an entrepreneur would normally do when starting a business)? Or is it just about moving a popular item for profit on eBay?
Re: New Year Resolutions... Re: New Year Resolutions... - [quote="Kevin Lee":398jg5d7][quote="Alan Mater":398jg5d7]My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.[/quote:398jg5d7] Hi Alan, Do you mean $500+ per month? And when you're selling items on eBay from a reputable dropshipper... do you think it's still important to pick a product you're passionate about (like what an entrepreneur would normally do when starting a business)? Or is it just about moving a popular item for profit on eBay?[/quote:398jg5d7] Hi Kevin, Yes, sorry I didn't clarify. My goal is to make $500+ per month. I would say yes, pick products that you have an interest in. That's the best option if you're going to like what you do. Hopefully you can find a balance between products you're interested in and products that are in high demand.
Re: SES Toronto Next Week Re: SES Toronto Next Week - In that case, how about the following? Track: Get Me Up to Speed * State of Search Marketing in Canada Track: Practical & Actionable * Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions Track: Advanced * User Search Behavior * Social Media Success * Web 2.0 & Search Engines * Giving Credit Where It’s Due: Which Campaign Sold What?
Need a book recommendation for writing better Need a book recommendation for writing better - I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing skills, so I was just wondering if anyone could recommend a good copywriting or copyediting book? I was actually thinking of reading "The Copywriter's Handbook : A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells" by Robert W Bly [u:w3cg00nn]OR[/u:w3cg00nn] "The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications" by Amy Einsohn. Would anyone know if these books are any good? Thanks


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article


Bottom Footer
Share for a Cause












Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Why Small Businesses Don't Survive

The five pillars of internet marketing strategy

Marketing & Sales tools – going back to basics

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.