CONFLICT IS A GOOD
THING
I am writing this because I have personally observed that
the higher up an organization the greater avoidance of personal conflict. This
is a real paradox.
What I have found is that the more managers look for
conflict, the more they will understand their people...what motivated them,
what frustrates them, etc.
As a kid, I was a conflict causer...making my father's life miserable.
I learned as an adult that what I was doing us using conflict to get attention.
And, wow, what attention I got! So
avoiding conflict make it worse!
The value of seeking out where conflict occurs include:
n
It gets people to talk what is on their mind [what
managers need to better understand]
n
It opens the door to finding out why the
conflict exists
n
Once discovered, conflict allows us to shift
blaming to one of "ownership" of a situation
Why do we miss conflict or dissatisfaction?
1.
Because we don't pay attention to changes in
facial expressions or posture, and
2.
We have been conditioned to avoid it.
A former CEO of GM approached conflict this way, "I propose we postpone discussion of this
matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop
disagreement". Go foster debate!
