Conflict management
That's enough! The way to address conflicts.
From Sabine Walter, Head of netzwerk managementberatung | coaching
Even though conflicts hold opportunities, most people do not welcome them in their private or professional lives. The strategies for dealing with conflict vary: from ignoring it to lashing out. Addressing a conflict at an early stage in such a way that the other person listens and the conversation is constructive is difficult for many people.
The KPMG Conflict Study proves that conflicts not only cost nerves but also money. 10-15 % of working time is used for conflict resolution, bullying-related absenteeism costs companies 30 billion per year - this does not include costs for fluctuation, illness and severance payments for employees who leave the company due to conflict.
These figures show that it is indispensable for teams to create and live a constructive conflict culture. This starts with addressing conflicts promptly and constructively.
How does it work?
- Framework conditions: conflicts should be dealt with privately in a confidential atmosphere. Make sure that you are not sitting directly opposite your conversation partner (at a 180° angle). This increases the confrontation. An angle of 90° is ideal, so it is better to sit at a corner at the table.
- Inner stance: see the other as part of the solution. Only then will you be able to have a conversation at eye level. It is therefore advisable not to seek a conversation in the heat of the moment, but to sleep on it. Use the time apart to separate the person and the thing and to find one thing that you appreciate about your conversation partner.
- Conversation structure: when addressing the conflict, the SAY IT Structure.
The chance of every conflict discussion conducted at eye level is to re-establish the basis of trust and to find a way of working together that does justice to the wishes and needs of those involved.
