Issues of conflict arise within an
organization week in and week out. The important question is… How effective is
your leadership in dealing with and then resolving these situations?
Leaders who fail to appropriately master
conflict on their watch ultimately permeate the tension and stress in their
organizations while hampering their own careers. Interestingly enough, many
leaders actually feel more courageous and internally settled when it comes time
to confront the issue or individual that is at the forefront of the conflict.
Often times, leaders who are confronted with
an issue involving conflict actually find themselves conflicted about how to
handle the issue that is facing them. This self-confliction invariably results
in approaches that yield ineffective outcomes… for example:
They assert their authority and attempt to
win regardless of the impact it may have on others. In the process, they fail
to consider “what might work” for the others involved.
The leader assumes a parental state in
dealing with the conflict which results in them fault finding and then blaming
others for their potential shortcomings. They may find them self looking down
over the rim of their glasses, possibly pointing their finger at others and
uttering things such as “You should have…”, “Why didn’t you…” or “If you
hadn’t…”
Leaders may have developed the habit of
viewing situations solely from the perspective of their world and consequently
lack the appropriate empathy to consider how the conflict may be affecting
others that are involved in the situation.
The leader may react impulsively to
questions, rather than take the appropriate time to think matters through and
provide a skilled and articulate response.
Leaders may avoid being honest regarding how
they feel about a given situation. In some instances, they may even resort to
emotional outbursts in order to mask the negative feelings which they may
harbor.
If the leader is not cognoscente enough to
maintain appropriate respect for others at all times, then there is a high
likelihood that they will inadvertently lead others to feel that they don’t
respect them.
Leaders often tend to add to the process of
over analyzing the issue at hand, rather than effectively focusing on the creation
and implementation of an appropriate solution.
It is ultimately every leader’s
responsibility to engage conflict situations with a “constructive” approach
that will bring clarity to the situation, identify critical issues, stimulate
strategic thinking and foster creative resolutions.
The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people
work, perform and live.
