Have you or someone you know experienced any of the following? o Spent half of your day dealing with conflict between your employees? o Stayed at home to avoid conflict with someone at work? o Felt intense anger, tension, or even fear because of conflict at work? o Had trouble getting things done because of tension and lack of cooperation? o Threatened someone, or felt intimidated or threatened by someone in your workplace? It would be surprising if you could not identify with at least one of these experiences.
Workplace conflict is widespread, destructive, and costly in many ways.
In the literature, it is referred to as "astronomical" and "epidemic.
" Conflict related stress is referred to as "the disease of the century.
" Ironically, the parallel trend is for cooperation.
To be truly "competitive" in the global work environment today, leaders and workers must have strong cooperation skills.
For example, some Fortune 500 companies have added relationship building and collaboration skills as a top priority for everyone they hire.
The good news: Conflict is a naturally occurring outcome when people with different perspectives; priorities and goals interact in the work environment.
The presence of conflict is not the fault of one person.
There is no one to blame.
The even better news: The negative effects of conflict are not inevitable.
If conflict is handled well, it can become a catalyst for greater cooperation, more creative and effective solutions and a healthier, more profitable environment.
The best news of all: There is a natural path from conflict to cooperation that is accessible and effective.
It involves waking up to the true nature and constructive potential of conflict.
It also involves becoming more conscious about how you interact with others around conflict.
It involves cracking and rewriting the code.
The codes are the underlying principles, patterns and practices that cause the system of conflict to be maintained.
And, how that system can be transformed to accelerate your way to a healthier, more satisfying, productive and profitable work experience.
Understanding the Nature of Conflict We have many myths about conflict that directly impact how a person responds to it.
Let's debunk those myths and look at some of the truths about conflict.
o Conflict is not evil.
Conflict occurs naturally when two or more differences (perspectives, intentions, values, goals etc.
), collide.
It is like the sparks that fly when the chemicals on the end of a match-stick strike the rough edges of a match box.
o Conflict is not essentially dangerous.
Conflict can be creative.
When conflict is handled well, the differences between people can lead to better decisions, better solutions and far greater outcomes.
oConflict is not isolated events.
Conflict is part of inter-related systems of ideas, interactions and practices, In other words, the quality and outcomes depend on how you and others at work think, talk, act and feel.
o Conflict is not one "fault" of one party.
Looking for someone to blame is a total waste.
It misses the systemic elements that could help you understand the conflict.
It also steals the focus from harnessing the creative possibilities hidden in the conflict.
oConflict can be transformed into cooperation.
By becoming conscious and shifting how you think, act, communicate and feel, you and others you work with can transform conflict into cooperation.
I have designed and developed an approach proven highly successful with hundreds of clients.
It is called the Four Conflict Codes.
It is based on scientific and professional evidence, over 20 years of experience, and dramatic results with hundreds of clients.
I invite you to wake up, crack the four codes and transform those sparks of conflict from harmful and destructive to warm and enlightening.
The Four Conflict Codes are: #1 The Mindset Code: How people habitually think in the workplace.
#2 The Behavior Code: How people act toward and with each other at work.
#3 The Conversation Code:How people communicate with each other and about each other.
#4 The Emotion Code: The feelings people bring to and cultivate in the workplace.
Each appears and unfolds in its own way in the workplace.
We need to examine each in detail, to solve the problems that each addresses.