by Janell Hazelwood
July 29, 2013
Management Tip: How to Facilitate Healthy Conflict in the Workplace
It’s always unfortunate when a valuable employee leaves a company due to faulty leadership and toxic environment, or a small conflict erupts into a full-on crisis. Healthy conflict is a reality in the business world, but how do you manage it as a boss?
Forbes contributor David Roth says that having conflict in the workplace isn’t always such a bad thing, but when managers take a hands-off approach, it can snowball into a major disaster that could have been avoided. He writes:
Here are 5 things I’ve learned about healthy conflict:
- It’s built on the rules and code of ethics established as part of company culture. These must be built into your into your company’s cultural DNA from day one on a foundation of trust and respect.
- Team members must get away from finger-pointing and work toward perceiving, understanding, and respecting where others are coming from.
- Everyone’s opinions matter. They must be able to express them without fear of being bullied.