Unmanaged Conflict

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Conflict is like the unwelcome guest at every workplace Christmas party – inevitable but manageable! When ignored, it can turn a celebration into a disaster.

Here’s a quick guide on how to keep the peace and avoid workplace drama:

  1. Face the Music: Dodging conflict is like procrastinating on paying your bills – it only gets worse with time. Tackle issues head-on instead of letting them simmer.
  2. Don’t Tolerate Bad Behaviour: If your workplace feels like a drama-filled reality show, it’s time for a change. Stamp out bad behaviours, encourage open talk, and watch the drama fade away.
  3. Leader to the Rescue: Leaders, don’t be MIA when conflicts arise. Jump in, sort things out, and show your team you’ve got their backs. Superheroes wear capes; leaders solve conflicts!
  4. Team > Me: Solo success is great, but team victories are better. Encourage a culture where everyone cheers for the team, not just themselves. It’s a win-win situation!
  5. Learn, Adapt, Thrive: If you’ve ever stumbled and learnt from it, you know what’s needed here. Reflect on past conflicts, learn from them, and gear up for a drama-free future.

Leaders, turn conflict management into your secret weapon! Invest in training programs that teach your team effective communication and negotiation skills. It’s not just about surviving conflicts; it’s about thriving in the midst of them. Let’s transform workplace clashes into opportunities for growth and success!

Seneca

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Some people are known mononymously – Madonna, Pele, Zendaya, Sting.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger lived from 4 BC to AD 65 and is usually known mononymously as Seneca.

He was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature (thanks Wikipedia).

This quote is from Seneca: A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.

The same is true for organisations. We think friction in organisations is bad, but it isn’t. It just needs managing.

Without friction:

  • we couldn’t negotiate (a fundamental skill for everyone in my opinion)
  • we wouldn’t be able to explore different perspective and understand risks
  • we would be stuck in groupthink
  • we would be less creative
  • we couldn’t work through issues and emerge with better relationships

Seneca’s wisdom extends to organisations. We need positive friction to negotiate, manage conflict and search for alignment.

Go get that gem polished!

Tribology

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Here’s a word you never thought you’d need to know: TRIBOLOGY.

A tribologist studies the friction between interacting surfaces and, surprisingly, it’s quite a broad field. Tribology is needed for maintaining machinery, replacing human joints, designing basketball shoes and many more dissimilar fields. Too much friction and the machine / artificial joint / shoes will stick; too little friction and the machine / artificial joint / shoes will slip.

My interest in tribology stems from my belief that leaders need to master friction to get the most out of their people. Sometimes the friction needs to be dialled down through conflict management, sometimes it needs to be dialled up to pursue alignment from different perspectives ,and sometimes, in complex negotiations, we dance with friction to keep it at the right level for the circumstances.

Positive Friction is about knowing when and how leaders should use friction.

And it’s powerful when done well – if leaders could negotiate better, resolve conflict better and be better at harnessing the contributions of their teams, it would fix profit, retention, productivity, alignment, and so much more!