How do you teach conflict resolutions to managers or senior leaders?

An organization consists of a diverse set of people with diverse opinions, perspectives, and work styles. But the fact remains that despite their differences, people have to come together to function efficiently and effectively in an organization. While organizations that encourage such diversity to turn out to be strong at the core, it is kind of impossible to get everyone on the same page at all times. And clearly, situations like these need a leader that can manage conflicts graciously.

Whenever there is a difference of opinions or any major fallout between employees or management, managers need to come forward and be able to recognize the root cause and be well equipped and informed to work with employees in resolving these conflicts

Let’s discuss why it’s important for managers to understand how to resolve problems that occur in the workplace and how with the right skills, every manager can handle such situations better.

Following are some useful advice/strategies to solve conflicts at the workplace.

1. Get to the root of the conflict

How are you supposed to solve a conflict if you don’t get to the root of the issue? The first step in resolving conflict is getting it to the source. Defining the cause of the conflict will help the manager understand how the issue came to grow in the first place. Speaking with other team members or employees will confirm what the actual matter was. Learn more by talking to both parties of a dispute and making sure their rights are being acknowledged. They should ask questions and make the other party feel comfortable and assured of their support, as well as theirs. By doing this, the manager will become more aware of what is happening, and why people are choosing a particular side to take in the situation.

2. Give them all ears

Ḥalf the matter is solved by just lending an ear. This is the simplest approach to solving problems peacefully. It's crucial to have a safe environment while in the midst of tough conversations. So it's important to choose the right space -- somewhere that is relaxing and calming yet also open enough to share things that are important without fear of judgment. So, before jumping to the conclusion of the matter, talk to them separately in private. Make sure that each party gets enough time to share their part and can confide in the manager without any hesitation.

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3. Practice Empathy

Empathy refers to a person’s ability to understand someone else’s feelings and provide emotional support to them when needed. It is like putting yourself into their shoes. According to a report from Forbes, it is said that empathy towards your employees is key to establishing a trusting and long relationship. And it is considered the most important aspect in a leadership role.

Managers need to acknowledge the feelings of an employee and understand where they’re coming from when there’s conflict in the workplace. A problem can be much more effectively resolved when both parties know, truly know, what it’s like to walk in one another’s shoes.

4. Focus on the Behavior

Few conflicts are brushed off under the carpet if they happen once or twice. But if the same behavior continues from an employee, then it is a pattern for them. Also, your focus should be on the behavior, and not the person responsible for the behavior .

A person sometimes behaves in a certain way that is against their personality. So don’t enter a discussion or conversation calling into question the employee’s values or beliefs.

Instead, the manager can say, “The behavior in the team meeting today was unacceptable,”. This will give a red signal to the employee and hopefully they will think twice before repeating the behavior.

5. Involve HR in extreme situations

Even after trying your best, there are some situations or conflicts that require a stern action from the management. If there’s a conflict about workplace behavior, for example, the manager should refer to the employee’s code of conduct, then should seek help from the framework of the organization with the policies and conditions.

The HR department can take further actions as per the comments from the manager and close the matter in the best possible way.

Closing thoughts

Conflict resolution is actually one of the hardest competencies to develop in managers and leaders because it’s not fun, and nobody actually wants to get into anyone’s mess. “But to be a highly successful manager or leader, one needs to be able to get in there, do the needful, and work toward a proper solution.”