Not all conflict is bad. Conflict can simply indicate that someone cares and has a different perspective. However, if conflict turns negative this can be detrimental at work. Conflicts can arise at work from differences in personalities, work assignments, management and employees, equal employment opportunities, and other issues. If you face such conflicts at your workplace, it is prudent that you have professional services from reputed mediators and consultants that have proper training and experience in resolving these types of disputes.
Conflict resolution at work is a specialized field in which reputed mediators and consultants have expertise. They follow a well-drawn-out process to resolve the disputes. Here is a high level perspective of the steps they follow to resolve disputes in the workplace.
Listen carefully
Before they decide how to work with the parties, they carefully listen to all the parties involved in the dispute. Listening carefully helps them to understand the viewpoints of each party and to build trust amongst the parties. The parties have the option to express their views in terms of the facts, the issues, the emotion around the issues, and their interests. They offer equal opportunities to all the parties. Each party can have their say. Consultants that do not listen carefully to understand various viewpoints, and that do not empathize with the parties while suspending their own judgment, and offer advice will undermine the process.
Understandingly look at the situation
Emotions and anxieties run high when there is a conflict. To avoid deterioration of the situation, the mediator tries to understand every party, even when they do not agree with that viewpoint. The mediator understands that they also have bias and need to understand their own bias and how that can impact the process. They work with the parties to them and their ideas in order to help the parties to resolve the conflict. Such understanding helps to lower the upsurge of emotions and anxieties, leading to a proper resolution of the conflict.
Discuss the contradictory perspectives
It is important for the mediator to be sensitive to the intensity and the emotions of the participants. The situation may worsen when the conflicting parties become emotional and personally attack each other. On the other hand, there are times when this venting is necessary in order to focus on the issues at hand. Mediators know that the best way for the mediator to tackle a conflict is to stay calm. A calm mind develops clearer ideas. They stay calm and avoid showing signs of agreement with either party. The mediator stays focused and stays away from blaming anyone.
Assimilate all facts
Reputed mediators and consultants in the USA assimilate all facts before they decide on how to proceed with the participants. Different parties can have different perspectives on the same problem. Mediators try to understand the different perspectives from the various parties. They allow all the parties to share their perspectives without any interruption in an initial commentary so that the parties know that they have been heard.
Obligingly work together
Following all the above steps the mediator works with the parties by asking open ended questions, summarizing, paraphrasing, and empathizing to help the parties find ways to resolve the conflict. They focus on addressing the shared problems instead of attacking others. As they listened attentively, considered the situation, calmly summarizing the perspectives, and the facts, they stood in a position to offer best practices to help the parties resolve their conflict through conflict resolution at work. Michael Gregory from Michael Gregory Consulting LLC is a well-established mediator and consultant in the USA that you can depend on to have a mediation to address conflicts at work. This will help employees to have peace in mind be it at the workplace or in their personal life. Reach him at (651) 633-5311 to book an appointment.
