Confl ict resolution

By NIC WAGSTAFF

FROM WHAT I SEE, SINCE 2020 WE HAVE TRANSITIONED SOMEWHAT BACK TO THE WORKPLACE, but there are still residual issues that are plaguing companies. We had a little shake up, to say the least. High stress over a prolonged period keeps us on edge, our behaviour is impacted and it has left many questioning life – and what is important to them.

This has left many people with:

• Lack of motivation and engagement, or low self-esteem

• Purpose/job misalignment

• Conflict and/or feeling of unfairness

• Exhaustion and burnout

• Personal residual situations at home.

These all create financial implications –presentism, workload covering longterm sickness, turnover, HR interventions, mediation or more formal disciplinary or grievance processes, with some resulting in Acas or employment tribunal (ET) claims. BBC Radio 2 recently said workplace absenteeism is at its highest and this all adds to the negative cycle, which wears out managers and is seemingly endless.

Conflict costs the UK £28.5 billion a year, according to the IOSH, and with an increasingly diverse makeup of age, gender, and personality type. Conflict is somewhat inevitable, but costs can be relatively low if caught in the early stages, before issues start to mount.

Getting to the core and drawing out top-down and bottom-up ideas supports a holistic and strategic approach – collectively looking at ‘the way things are done around here’ (Deal & Kennedy, 2000) – to give everyone a voice, whilst looking at the operations and company-level issues.

When it comes to individuals, all our different personalities can dance around our coping mechanisms when under stress. We stick to ‘being right’ or not speaking up and completely missing the point that we are empowered to master our own mind, emotions and ultimately, our experience of life and work. This comes from adopting a solution-focused, growth mindset.

When this is not highlighted, individuals not only keep spiralling into their own negativity, it also can spread.

So how to approach a seemingly nightmarish situation and turn it around dramatically, before it goes too far?

We own it, we listen and we take inspired action, through conflict resolution interventions.

Courage

Pulling the rug out within the ‘storming’ phase (Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development), means you’re advanced in your own SELF-leadership to lead by example. As much as a negative culture can develop and spread, so can a positive one

Set up an initial conflict resolution session

It’s a conversation starter, not a promise. Here, the situation is exposed, raw and confidentially, with an external expert, and solutions are brainstormed by the team, who agree on what is to be fed back.

• What can the manager do?

• What can the company as a whole look at? How can HR help?

• What can the team do?

• What can I work on myself?

This starts to rebuild trust and team connection. Individuals feel empowered and interested in learning selfregulation tools, as well as being heard and contributing to the solution.

CDP for Teams

Timely follow-up session that focus on self-leadership, while management addresses other tactile and strategic moves, sharing tools that can be applied right now on personality types, resilience, change and emotional management. Plus 1:1 support from the manager

CDP for Management

Session feedback is powerful, along with mentoring, coaching and any other guidance, to develop the immediate action plan and long-term areas to look at, which also brings accountability. We have found bespoke blended training/wellness retreats are very powerful on a leadership or team level.

Continuous, Consistent, Clear Communication Manager leads a meeting to relay immediate decisions and long-term plans with regular checkpoints/sharing of changes being implemented, until the team is back up to ‘performing’.

ROI (Return on Investment)

Working with HR to analyse data (Kirkpatrick evaluation), along with a final checkpoint approximately six months later, to compare the initial session for any changes or further interventions.

'You've changed my life'

This is the best feedback from the manager, after running our conflict resolution session. It’s music to my ears, but it’s a joint effort, and while it can take time to turn the ship around, there are definitely lots of creative immediate actions that can be taken. Most importantly, the team (and manager) have hope. The journey has begun.

When we change our perception and turn fear of conflict on its’ head, we can really explore the creative solutions that friction can bring. Sometimes conflict is required to accelerate, to evolve, but if we ignore it then it becomes a disease within the business. Let’s move from surviving to thriving!

Nic Wagstaff Founder and CEO of Inspire-Rewire info@inspire-rewire.com inspire-rewire.com