Williams Education Consulting
  • Home
  • About Amber E. Williams
    • Publications and Media
  • Services
    • Career Services
    • Leadership and Entrepreneur Coaching
    • Dissertation Support
  • Contact Information
  • Leadership Tips
  • Equity and Social Justice Forum

Leadership Tips

Conflict in the workplace

8/23/2016

1 Comment

 
I don't know of any leader who enjoys playing mommy or daddy to tattle-telling employees.  The goal should be to build capacity in employees to be effective in conflict resolution, but in the mean time, how do you address employee conflict?

Once you have become aware of conflict between employees, address it immediately.  Don't allow the conflict to fester and taint the spirit of the rest of the team.  Here are some steps for dealing with the conflict:
  1. Speak to the employees individually so you can hear each side of the story.  Take notes and be an effective listener.  Don't say or do anything that would give the impression that you are in support of one employee over another before all stories are heard.
  2. Determine if there is any policy or procedure that addresses the conflict.  
  3. Speak to the employees involved in the conflict collectively and inform them of your decision.  During this meeting, do not allow employees to speak negatively about one another or bully one another.  Ensure that everyone fully understands your decision.
  4. If there is any employee disciplinary action to be taken, do so privately and respectfully.
  5. If there was no policy to govern the conflict or the policy was inadequate or unclear, consider revising the policy or creating new policy to prevent the conflict in the future.  If policy did not apply in this situation, examine the organization culture or procedures to determine how this conflict happened and what you can do to prevent it in the future.
  6. Monitor the employees and the situation to make sure that it's truly been resolved.

Employee conflict is frustrating because it prevents work from being done.  That's why it must be addressed swiftly and effectively.  Even good leaders experience conflict on their teams every once in a while, but what separates them from ineffective leaders is how they handle it!
1 Comment
Alycia Grace
9/13/2016 09:57:51 pm

Great advice! I will definitely put this to use in my next position.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All
    Bad Day
    Coaching
    Conflict
    Critical Conversations
    Culture
    Development
    Education
    Failure
    Goals
    Gratitude
    Growth
    Hiring Practices
    Honesty
    Isolation
    Leadership Defined
    Leadership Strategies
    Mentoring
    Mindfulness
    Mindset
    New Beginnings
    Opportunity Cost
    Ownership
    Perceptions
    Prioritize
    Productivity
    Professional Development
    Promotion
    Reflection
    Resources
    Responsibility
    Self Discipline
    Self-discipline
    Situational Leadership
    Soft Skills
    Sphere Of Influence
    Sports
    Strengths
    Success
    Teams
    Transparency
    Weaknesses
    Workaholic

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe to Newsletter

Services

Leadership Development
Instructional Coaching
Teacher Development
​Leadership/Entrepreneur Coaching & Support

Company

About
E-Newsletter

Support

Contact
​
FAQ

Picture
WBE/MBE CERTIFIED​
© COPYRIGHT 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Transforming lives by transforming leaders. 
The mission of Williams Education Consulting is to provide high-quality, impactful coaching, training, and professional development to leaders and aspiring leaders that result in individual and organizational success.
  • Home
  • About Amber E. Williams
    • Publications and Media
  • Services
    • Career Services
    • Leadership and Entrepreneur Coaching
    • Dissertation Support
  • Contact Information
  • Leadership Tips
  • Equity and Social Justice Forum