The Best Way Out Is Through
Ideological debate, disagreement, and conflict are healthy. Conflict that’s about the people involved, past slights, or perceived agendas is toxic to a productive working environment. In work relationships, just like in personal relationships, we can get stuck in the unproductive kind of conflict that drains our energy and distracts us from the path to success.
When team trust is broken, the healthy debate of ideas disappears and gets replaced with veiled comments and passive-aggressive behavior. The entire team is impacted, even if they are not actively participating in the conflict. Alliances can form and the organization becomes splintered. In these contexts, mere survival should be neither the goal nor the measure of success.
Finding human understanding and shifting the focus to ideas instead of people is magic. Easy to say. Hard to do. We can help.
Need Conflict Mediation at Work?
What Is Workplace Conflict Mediation?
Workplace conflict mediation is a restorative process whereby parties engaged in unhealthy conflict and behaviors are brought together by a neutral facilitator to discuss their disagreements in an intentionally-created safe space. In this setting, parties are able to communicate openly and respectfully, with the intent of generating solutions to the conflict that are both mutually agreeable and actionable.
The facilitator’s role in workplace conflict mediation is not to take sides, provide solutions, or declare a “verdict.” Solutions are devised by the parties themselves, not the facilitator.
In Order to Be Effective, Workplace Conflict Mediation Should Involve Two Things:
1
A Neutral Facilitator
Having a neutral facilitator is essential to the workplace conflict mediation process. If one or both parties believe the facilitator to be biased towards another party, the process will not work.
2
Voluntary Participation
Workplace conflict mediation must be voluntary. If parties do not come willingly, there is a risk that any resolution reached will not have their full commitment.
When Is Workplace Conflict Mediation Effective?
As a more cost-effective and less time-consuming alternative to a formal complaint process, workplace conflict mediation can be effective when an employee clash is causing turnover, a general lack of respect among employees, or a decrease in morale or organizational success.
When Is Workplace Conflict Mediation Not An Option?
Workplace conflict mediation is usually not an option if a state or federal law has been broken, or a company policy has been breached. Examples may include sexual harassment, violence, and theft. In these cases, legal representation and guidance, direct disciplinary action, or termination may be required.
“Our clients walk away in a state of forgiveness and an enhanced curiosity about working together effectively—by seeking first to understand before being understood.”
– Terri Stivarius, Chief Investigator and Coach
The PointerWise Difference
Encouraging healthy conflict while mitigating unhealthy conflict is a balancing act. How do we create spaces where our employees feel free to speak their minds while also remaining open to constructive feedback and criticism?
We believe healthy conflict is essential to effective teams. That’s why our workplace conflict mediation process incorporates business coaching. We coach leaders and team members on how to engage in conversations around conflict without taking opposing views or criticism personally. Learning this skill is crucial to achieving positive outcomes. In the case of conflict, a positive outcome is a team that engages in vigorous ideological debate with the heat of passion, tempered with an assumption of trust, respect, and the spirit of achieving the very best wins for the organization.
Our process is a combination of coaching and facilitated dialogue, sprinkled with sage advice from many quarters of the universe, customized to the situation and people involved.
We tailor each mediation for the unique issues and people involved. If you are open and receptive to change, you will walk away from this process better able to lead and participate in healthy conflict, resist the human tendency to take criticism of our ideas and work personally, and prevent the personal conflict that only causes damage.
Our goal is not to eliminate conflict, but to shift it to healthy debate and team alignment.
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