A perspective from a Registry Partners Quality Consultants, Monica Reece, RHIT, CTR.
Reggie Joiner said, “The power of listening could be key in how we resolve conflict.” Poor listening and communication skills between co-workers are one cause of workplace conflicts. A leader’s primary responsibility is developing other people and helping them reach their professional potential. Part of this is assisting other people to become leaders themselves, and one skill to achieve leadership is resolving conflict. As a leader, be curious about what is bothering a colleague and try to see the problem as the other person sees it. In certain instances, an empathetic response is appropriate, while other times, it may be working through steps or a word of advice.
My father was a leader in his field and once told me a story about one particular workday. He had to fire an employee, and at the end of the meeting, the newly fired employee hugged him. He finished the story with, “how you talk to people matters.”
A leader can learn to see through the other person’s eyes by asking questions. Listening and speaking have been challenged by working from home because people have less opportunity to express themselves; however, listening can be achieved virtually as well, and it matters. Particularly for a leader, it’s important to remain responsive and supportive.
I learned from a written communication mistake along my work journey. I replied to an email from a colleague who was discussing a problem they were having. I wrote my email back as if I was talking to them on the phone; however, the colleague did not read it the way I intended. I read my email back after I learned that the colleague took offense. The second time I read it with my colleague’s point of view in mind, the outcome of my email read much differently from a different perspective. My colleague could not see my face or hear my tone through written communication. Through this, I learned to re-read my emails once over before sending, particularly for emails on the topic of working through a problem.
When a conflict has been resolved, what is one action we should do? We take something positive from it and grow. If you change your thinking, you can change yourself as a leader.
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Resources:
Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 by John C Maxwell
Employer News The Art of Deep Listening To Resolve Conflict