Ask the Business Coach Joyce K. Reynolds is an expert Business Coach who works with CEOs, Sr. Execs, entrepreneurs and countless others providing knowledge, solutions, motivation and support that assist her clientele in successfully meeting workplace challenges. Find out more about Joyce's coaching practice. Conflicts at Work Question: I was just recently appointed to b a member of the Grievance Committee of our office and I am honestly not skilled to handle conflict since this is my first experience. I was chosen because I am an officer of the Employee's Association and I am representing the labor force. The problem presented to us is a conflict between a supervisor and her boss. The supervisor filed a complaint against her boss for unfair treatment and conduct unbecoming of a superior. She claims the boss shouts at them (supervisors) and accuses them of being stupid in front of their subordinates. While the boss and the other supervisors and rank and file employees of their department claim that the complainant has lately been insecure with her status in the department because she had been reprimanded many times for her unexcused absences and for poor performance. Based on their explanation letters, I think both of them are at fault. Am I making the right recommendations? I am recommending that the supervisor be transferred to another department and the department be advised to refrain from emotional outbursts and from uttering damning terminologies. She should also be reprimanded for not having been able to resolve this problem when it was still at its early stage. She will be made accountable for her failure as the manager to avoid having this conflict go out of hand. I hope you will be able to help on this. Tina Answer: The recommended first step in settling any conflict is for the two parties to make a one-on-one attempt at resolution thereby avoiding outright deterioration of the situation. It seems, in the case you are facing, this step was not taken. The problem festered then escalated to a formal complaint which has, seemingly, eliminated the option to have these two executives work out a solution between themselves. While I'm not clear on whether it is in this role or in your position as an officer for the Employee's Association that you act as representative for the labor force - I feel that you would be wise to recommend a course that requires both parties to exercise the kind of upper management thinking and maturity that is expected of senior leaders and, thus, bring them into a position of mutual accord. I do not think that the best initial recommendation would be to separate these two as if they were kids having a school yard scuffle. Rather, they need to be addressed as two high-level business professionals who have been entrusted with jobs that entail leadership, problem-solving and negotiation skills. If you find, further along, that you have two valuable employees who simply can not be productive together, then you may wish to try that as a final course of action. But, initially, this solution does not send a good message to the organization and could easily set in a pattern of employees wanting to transfer away from their problems instead of being challenged to grow and learn from them. In sorting out the failings that need to be addressed and the best primary course of correction to take, you will want to ascertain whether the initial conflict was based on a substantive problem or one that came out of a personality clash. Keep in mind that personalization of a problem can occur when a conflict of substantive nature is poorly handled and results in defensiveness and non-cooperation. Once this happens, the difficulty becomes emotionally-based with the further outcome that neither party is really interested in solving the problem. If you determine that this is the likely history of the complaint, the underlying problem needs to be addressed and a corrective course of action detailed for both parties. If, on the other hand, you suspect that the complainant is using this situation to help mask her growing insecurity and flagging job performance, you will want to avoid transferring her as there's a good chance that she'll simply recreate the problem wherever she goes. On her part, serious new work standards need to be put into place and a course of improvement clearly set out and agreed upon. This, of course, would be done with the assurance that she will also encounter improved direction and mangement from her supervisor. Conversely, removing her instead of asking her boss to become a more intelligent and restrained manager, will not serve that party well either. While the supervisor needs to know that some of the problem had to do with performance issues, her boss needs to know that her abusive, outspoken style is not welcome in your workplace as, instead of teaching her reports to learn how to better negotiate with their peers, she is showing her own lack of communication and problem-solving skills. There has to be some consequence for this failing as building better relationships, motivating employees and enhancing job satisfaction are among key management mandates. What needs to be stressed is behavior that creates a polarizing environment is not only counterproductive but unacceptable for a respectful, professional workplace. I believe you would better serve your organization if you focus on achieving a détente based on specific issues or agreements that the two executives will sign off on. The objective is always to have the parties become solution-oriented. Bringing the two together in a neutral, mutually-supportive environment has the potential to eliminate the problem in the presence of cooperation and learning on behalf of both executives. A specified time frame for improvement needs to be set and followed in some formal way to determine the progress of both individuals and the situation at large. In the end, this conflict, if handled correctly, can provide instruction, improvement and enhanced leadership in your workplace. The basic strategy is to identify the individual changes that need to be made, clarify what is expected of each person in specific terms, finally, bringing them together with the full support of the organization so they can, ultimately, act as models of a mature, solution-oriented corporate culture. Also see: • Ask Joyce your workplace questions • More questions • One-on-one business coaching Disclaimer: The information in this column is intended to provide the reader with general ideas or concepts to be used as part of a broader base of knowledge they collect to determine their own best course of action and solutions most suitable for solving their workplace challenges. The information in this column is not guaranteed to be the appropriate solution for each individual.