Conflict doesn’t exist in a bubble; two people can be at odds, but their disagreements, insults, barbs, ally-building, and game-playing can make life stressful for everyone surrounding these individuals. That’s only exacerbated when the parties in question are senior members of a staff.

Challenge

In this situation, conflict between two senior staff members fragments the workplace. People feel the need to take sides, and the team becomes increasingly polarized. Cliques form, communication is strained, and morale and productivity take a nosedive.

Solutions

The senior staffers agree to mediation, which leads to productive discussions between the two. Now it’s time to bring the rest of the team on board. Together, they work on defining the concerns they have about working conditions. As a result, they define solutions and jointly create a report, detailing their requests to management.

Results

Management gains greater insight into what is working within the team – and what is not. They are able to implement appropriate changes and restore calm to the team.

When people have the opportunity to engage in a respectful, safe discussion with an objective third party, they can often uncover the source of their conflict. From there, it’s a matter of agreeing to take steps to resolve it. Because workplace conflict frequently touches everyone on the team, it is critical that they too are involved in the mediation process itself, or, at the least, considered in any plans for a positive resolution.