Last Updated on June 15, 2023 by Dave Schoenbeck
While conflict is a natural and necessary part of most jobs, it’s more common than you might think for managers to avoid it whenever possible. Most managers are not ready to react to conflict in the moment, preferring to wait for it to blow over or hope the problem solves itself. Strong-willed managers can turn tail at the first sign of conflict with another employee.
Conflict avoidance, however, does no one any favors. As a business leader, it’s your job to model healthy conflict-coping strategies for your employees. Fortunately, overcoming conflict avoidance in the workplace is possible and can become natural with practice.
Dealing with Conflict Avoidance at Work
Workplace conflict avoidance might absolve you of temporary discomfort, but it causes more problems than it solves in the long run. Without conflict, nothing ever changes. Therefore, you need to focus on overcoming conflict avoidance to discipline problem employees, correct mistakes, and foster more trust with your team.
Overcoming Conflict Avoidance in the Workplace
The first step is to reframe the way you think about conflict. Of course, the word carries a negative connotation, but there’s a potential for conflict to occur any time you have two different viewpoints. In addition, you want to encourage many different opinions to have a well-rounded team. Thus, the chance of conflict cropping up is high.
But conflict doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Employees need you to bring up hard truths. Too many managers let lousy behavior go on for too long because they’re afraid of conflict, but that’s not fair to the team member who might have no idea they’re making a mistake. Nor is it appropriate for the rest of the team to pull the extra weight when the work contains errors.
When done right, conflict can be explored through clear communication. As a leader, it’s your job to model this for your team because it should go both ways. You want your team to speak up if you’re doing something wrong, and likewise, you absolutely must address mistakes your teammates continually make.
To do this, implement frequent check-ins with your team. Be gentle but honest about any problems you’ve noticed in their performance, and invite the opportunity to receive criticism. Invest in a communication seminar if you think it’s necessary to overcome conflict avoidance in the workplace for yourself and your team.
You’re responsible for your team; they look to you for guidance. The goal is to have an open dialogue that both parties can trust to be truthful and kind. It might be uncomfortable at first to have tough conversations with your employees, but they need to trust you to take action when needed.
Overcoming conflict avoidance in the workplace is a concrete step toward becoming a world-class leader. So fill out my contact form to sign up for a complimentary coaching call with me, and we’ll work on managing your conflict avoidance.
Coach Dave
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