There was an old saying, “When two dishes are put together they are bound to make noise”. Similarly, when two people sit together they can easily get into an argument with every clash of the difference in their opinions. In an office environment, where your colleagues sit with you for most of the day, then you celebrate the differences and manage your conflicts in the best suitable solutions at hand.
Whenever you are met with a conflicting opinion of your colleagues, confront them with an open heart and resolve them at your earliest. Do not let it build on, by ignoring it or staying silent about it. Your hostile relationship with any of your colleagues can be very disadvantageous for you.
Here are 6 tips for you to manage your business relationship with your colleagues and prevent a conflict in the first place or resolve it with ease.
Be firm in your rules
When you start working in a company, you need to devise a few rules around your own self. Your behavior should make it clear to your colleagues what is tolerable for you and what isn’t. The key to stay peaceful is to be firm on your own rules and also by strictly following the company’s rules. The company should also devise certain rules of positioning and conflict resolve management and mention them in the contract to curb any attempt of credit or power snatching.
Prevent the occurrence of a conflict
Making rules and staying firm on them may not be as fruitful as we hoped, in the resolution of the conflict. Especially when we are over worked or over-burdened with work or a deadline to meet.
When you hold an executive position then it becomes your duty to save your colleagues or staff members from getting into any conflict. You need to keep things friendly and your policies light hearted for your staff members while enhancing their healthy competitions and allowing everyone to have and keep an opinion of their own and respect the opinions of the other members.
You need to encourage them towards confronting others if they have anything against anyone in their heart but with professionalism and open heart and politeness.
Educate Staff
Everyone has different experiences in life and those experiences teach us useful life lessons. We deal with different people and conflicts differently because of our own diverse experiences. It can be both good and bad in a team of different sort of people, with all range of reactions. Some people are a hard nut and could neither accept their mistake nor try to resolve the issue at hand with a positive perspective.
Being the company head, team leader or manager you need to conduct training and workshops to educate all sort of people to resolve their differences with ease. This will provide you a peaceful environment and mind. People will become more understanding towards each other and will bring boost for your company.
Conduct Your Own Accountability
Whenever you find yourself in the center of a conflict, pause and repeat your stance in your mind. Judge yourself with an open and positive mind. Now consider every of your words and decide whether you are the reason of the conflict or not? Have you ignited it further with your harshness or stubbornness or not?
It is always wise to accept your mistakes. Furthermore, if you go and apologize to your colleague after making a mistake, this doesn’t only make your heart burden less but also make you a good at heart person in the eyes of other people and they will respect you for your gesture.
Your self-accountability also shows you that you had taken a negative stance and you need to prevent it the next time you are in an argument with your colleagues.
Prevent Usual Reasons of a Conflict
There are few generally observed reasons that can end up into a conflict in a working atmosphere. Most of the times the conflict arises because of the misunderstandings caused at the hand of miscommunication and sometimes it’s the irritation of the deadline or burden of excessive work looming on your head. Getting into a person’s private circle can also be a problematic thing, just like snatching the right of someone, can also ignite a huge conflict.
Get to Know Your Colleagues Better
You must try to get to know your colleagues that spend most of the day’s portion with you every day. This will also help you prevent getting into a conflict at your workplace because when you know the person well, then you can perceive his intentions too. You can also understand him better and thus forego any harsh comment or argument of your colleague, knowing how difficult it is to be in his shoes.