The Do’s and Don’ts of Business Conflict Resolution

Introduction

In the business world, conflicts are inevitable. It may arise at any point of the business lifecycle. It’s an unavoidable part of doing business. As a responsible leader or manager, it’s your duty to lead the charge and diffuse conflicts at your workplace. How can you achieve the same? It’s simple by following the “The Do’s and Don’ts of Business Conflict Resolution” sutra.

The Do’s:

1. Be a Good Listener: Leaders, should be patient listeners. Be curious and ask questions to understand both sides involved in the conflict.
2. Open Communication and Transparency: It’s always better to deploy an open communication channel and normalize transparency in your organization culture so employees can share their grievances and feel heard.
3. Neutral Mediator: As a neutral mediator, try to be well-aware of what’s happening, observe behavior, listen, and know what is and isn’t permissible. It’s important to note who is saying what in detail.
4. Compromise: Sometimes, compromising can lead to a quick solution. Ask both sides involved in the conflict to come up with a solution together . A win-win situation.
5. Leave your Ego at Door: Conflict resolution requires two parties to relinquish their egos and come together to find an acceptable solution.

The Don’ts:

1. Avoid Personal Attacks: During a conflict resolution meeting, it’s always recommended to avoid personal attacks. Take an objective approach towards resolving a conflict.
2. Never Reaction Providing: A spur-of-the-moment reaction is never helpful while trying to diffuse a conflict. Give everyone in the room time to talk before proposing a solution.
3. Avoid Dismissive Language: You need to be careful about how your message comes across. Avoid dismissive language or making exaggerated claims as it escalates the situation.
4. Don’t Favor One Party: As a mediator, your job is always to serve the best interests of the company as a whole, even if it leads to having tough conversations. A mediator must never prioritize one party over others involved in a conflict.
5. Avoid Dragging Issues Past the Meeting: After arriving at a solution through the conflict resolution meeting, the issue should be considered resolved. Discussing the matter publicly, unfairly, or raising it later defeats the purpose of the mediation meeting.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as mentioned above, conflicts at work are inevitable, and dealing with them is never easy. Therefore, by following The Do’s and Don’ts of Business Conflict Resolution, you can make progress. Crucial to that progress is proficiency in persuasive techniques designed to create and maintain relationships with people on diverse fronts. Be an approachable mediator, and stay neutral in conflict resolution meetings to do what’s best for the company. Employees can achieve more, happier, and healthier working together productively without compromising values and beliefs.