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The Upside of Conflict
Put the words "workplace" and "conflict" together and it usually means trouble. "People generally avoid it like the plague," says Craig E. Runde, director of the Center of Conflict Dynamics at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla. "Most people hear the word conflict and immediately view it as a negative thing." But not so fast, says a new study. The study by Psychometrics Canada, based in Edmonton, Alberta, concludes that conflict can actually benefit an organization when managed properly. The study finds that conflict can be a catalyst for better solutions, major innovations, increased motivation and other workplace benefits. Specifically, the more than 350 HR professionals across Canada surveyed said conflict can lead to: * Better understanding of others (77 percent); * Better solutions to problems and challenges (57 percent); * Higher work-team performance (40 percent); * Increased motivation (31 percent); and * Major innovations (21 percent). "The word conflict has such a negative connotation, but what we heard from HR leaders is it isn't always necessarily bad," says Shawn Bakker, a psychologist and researcher at Psychometrics Canada. "Conflict is always going to be there. The idea of eliminating it from a workplace is impossible, and, from what we learned, probably not desirable." Bakker says the dismal economy offers a prime opportunity for organization to take a fresh look at conflict. Rising workplace stress along with layoffs, cost-cutting and other strategies to deal with corporate financial challenges are bound to create more conflict on the job. Meanwhile, unsatisfied employees who might have opted to move on to another job in better times are more likely to stick around Those factors make managing -- and potentially leveraging -- conflict all the more important and potentially a competitive advantage. "Everyone is doing a lot more with less," Bakker says. "Organizations need to get the best possible ideas they can and also make sure they are getting the best out of their employees." Self Reflection
So where does an HR leader begin? First stop would be the mirror, according to Runde of the Center of Conflict Dynamics. He points out that many HR executives are conditioned to view conflict negatively, and only deal with it when they are called upon to handle contention between co-workers. "The problem is that, typically, once a conflict reaches HR, the task at hand it to limit the damage and close the book on it," Runde says. "There isn't an opportunity to explore how to get the good out of a conflict." Instead, HR leaders should reflect on instances in the past in which good solutions or positive results grew out of conflict. That's a technique that Runde often uses in conflict seminars he conducts with Tim A. Flanagan, director of custom programs at the Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College. "Almost everyone has had some type of conflict that ended well," Flanagan says. "We hear things like, 'We came up with a new idea that was better than either of the ideas we had going into it.' " Curious, Not Furious Flanagan says it's important to recognize the yin and yang of conflict. There is destructive, emotionally based conflict and there is constructive, tasked-based conflict. The fertile territory for HR is task-based conflict in which the debate is over ways to approach a work-related issue. HR can help employees develop a different take on conflict that moves past anger or resentment. "When you're furious, you can't be curious," says Flanagan. Simply suggesting that employees view conflict with curiosity to get at the root of the disagreement often dispels anger and can lead to compromise or a new, better solution, he says. Diane C. Decker of Quality Transitions, a HR consulting firm in Charlestown, RI, suggests HR serve as neutral facilitators of teams working through conflict. She also suggests that those facilitators undergo some training to help ensure they have a good grasp on ways to steer conflict toward positive results. "Without a facilitator, conflicts may not be fully explored or the leader may make a unilateral decision," Decker says. "I've found a neutral presence frees a group to delve further into conflicts in a safe way. The discussions can help a group [that] is arguing over two options to come up with a third, breakthrough solution, which ends up being better than the initial ideas." Melody Brooke, a "conflict coach" and Dallas-based author of Oh WOW, This Changes Everything, says "conflict is always a good thing if the parties involved understand how to navigate it and learn from the information collected." In Brooke's view, viewing conflict in a positive way can benefit an organization by: * Getting a clearer picture of what is actually happening; * Developing new processes based on the give-and-take of opposing views; * Creating a culture of acceptance and understanding, as opposed to "warring sides;" and * Deepening employee engagement. "When someone is listened to, they feel more appreciated and valued than if their ideas are summarily dismissed as wrong," Brooke's says. The reality is, it's in the best interest for HR professionals to try to find a positive spin on conflict. The study from Psychometrics found that nearly all (99 percent) HR leaders deal with conflict and three of four have seen conflict result in personal insults and attacks. In addition, eight in 10 (81 percent) have seen it end in someone leaving the organization. "These figures should be a strong alert to industry leaders that poorly managed conflict could be causing significant problems in their organizations," says Mark Fitzsimmons, managing director of Psychometrics Canada.
March 12, 2009 Copyright 2009© LRP Publications |
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