Being a resilient leader involves both the foundation of a huge reserve of personal resilience and strength of character as well as the ability to connect with and then support and inspire those around them. The more successful leaders are able to manage conflict to build a stronger more harmonious and productive team culture.

There is a special skill involved in being able to rise above the supercharged emotions and rising tide of acrimony and create a collaborative spirit. In this Fast Company article, Lee Price provides some practical advice on helping your direct reports to mend fences and move forward.

1 GIVE PEOPLE A VOICE  

"The fact that people disagree isn’t a bad thing," says Amy Gallo, author of the “HBR Guide to Managing Conflict at Work”. It is how we manage conflict that can be damaging to productivity.

However, not every little squabble requires you to get involved. For everyday friction that occurs at work, give people space to disagree and work things out. But when a disagreement becomes personal, or when it’s affecting the work, then it’s time for you as a leader to intervene.

The first step to finding peace is to talk to both parties separately, says Lindred Greer, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Start with one-on-one conversations, Gallo says, and help each person do the important initial work of "seeing the other person’s perspective, understanding their own emotions, and preparing for the conversation."

Your job is to make sure you have the complete story and give everyone a chance to voice their grievances. "Often conflicts erupt because one person doesn’t feel heard," Gallo says. "Just making someone feel heard can help."

2. ASK MEANINGFUL QUESTIONS

It can be difficult for someone to put into words exactly why they feel slighted. "Most of us have a very limited emotional vocabulary," Gallo explains. To help employees dig deeper and better understand their own feelings about the situation, ask questions that focus on their emotions. For example, "if you’re disappointed versus angry, you’re going to act very differently," Gallo says.

You also want to ask questions to help each person take the other’s perspective. Gallo suggests asking, "What do you think is going on with her?" or, "What’s making him act that way?" If your employee is not immediately able to come up with realistic answers, keep pushing: "What else could be going on? What could be an alternate theory?" Help them open their mind to other viewpoints and perspectives that could help foster understanding.

Finally, ask questions to bring out what behavioral psychologists call "efficacy"—show team members that they have the power to solve the problem. Ask them, "What’s something you could do to make this situation better?"

Through asking meaningful questions, Gallo says, you’re helping the employee understand their own nuanced feelings, see the other person’s perspective, and pinpoint something they can do about it. They will walk away feeling heard and empowered.

3.LOOK AHEAD—TOGETHER

Once you’ve helped each side to gain a bit of clarity, encourage them to talk with each other privately, communicating to each other what they have each separately communicated to you.

Express confidence that they can work out their differences and find resolution on their own. Be careful about acting as a direct mediator between two employees. "Only insert yourself if they ask you to be there," Gallo says.

After the immediate disagreements are addressed, map out a plan to help everybody stay on the same page. Help your employees identify what group success looks like—and how success for the group is different than individual success, says Reynolds.

With a shared mission statement that everyone believes in, you can rally your team to work toward that mission together in harmony.

Access Lee’s original post here :

https://www.fastcompany.com/3066431/how-emotionally-intelligent-bosses-resolve-conflicts

To learn more on mental toughness contact Mental Toughness Partners

Paul Lyons is an experienced CEO who coaches leaders to improve their performance and wellbeing by developing their mental toughness. 

View our range of workshops and coaching packages

To learn more contact Paul or Mental Toughness Partners

View my daily posts

If you would like to learn more about MTQ assessments, Mental Toughness or the Mental Toughness Partners website please contact us.

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Unsplash