Success with Difficult Conversations in Four Steps
Most people are conflict avoidant and don't have the unique set of skills to have difficult conversations successfully. What's the last conflict you have experienced? Conflict avoidance is a person's method of reacting to a situation that brings up uncomfortable feelings—resulting directly in avoiding or confronting the issue at hand. Conflict avoidance often leads to failure to communicate effectively, loss of talent, loss of relationships, and loss of revenue. When you learn to shift from a conflict to a conversation, you are stepping from a Win-Lose mentality to a Win-Win mindset. According to CPP Inc., the Myers-Briggs Assessment and the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument found that 85 percent of U.S. employees deal with conflict on some level.
Identifying the signs of conflict avoidance can include
Changing the subject
Stonewalling, refusing to communicate or cooperate
Denying an issue exists by ignoring it
Putting off a discussion until later, or simply not bringing it up
Fear of disappointing others
Silently resenting unresolved issues
When it comes to succeeding in business, senior leaders and mid-level managers are dealing with more than just running the quarterly/annual strategy for the organization; they also cultivate a culture where the company is building on communication or dismantling it, which results in an avoidance culture.
To move forward with effective communication skills, it begins with identifying where you are as an employee to the organization, team leader, or as the greatest asset that the business has. Using a win-win negotiation strategy, where there is an equal advantage, there must be ground rules set to communicating the individual interest and the group's interest; that compromise and cooperation must be more or at least as significant as personal stakes.
The research shows that the key to effectively managing conflict is developing skills and mindset. CPP reports these statistics about workplace conflict management training:
57% of employees in the U.S. had some conflict training.
95% of those with training said it helped them find favorable conflict resolutions.
58% of individual contributors with training looked for win-win solutions to actual conflicts.
The most crucial factor to consider is developing and transforming the mindset companies value and appreciate team members who can come to the table with a win-win strategy in one which all the parties benefit and come out winning. EQ Refined trainings lead directly to achieving positive outcomes from conflict situations.
Connect with EQ Refined today and see how we can offer training to your organization.