January is upon us, and with it comes resolutions and hopes for a successful new year. What resolutions do you want to make about how conflict is managed in your organization? Conflict costs dearly in lost productivity, decreased morale and increased stress. Early resolution of conflict is our mantra. What changes can you make so that conflict…

Consider your family, friends and co-workers. Who jumps right into conflict with force and passion? Who is the mediator? And who tries to avoid conflict altogether? How about you – how do you handle conflict? The most commonly used classification schema for conflict was developed by Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann. In their configuration, there…

Conflict drains both emotions and resources in an organization. When conflict occurs, 42 percent of a manager’s time is spent on reaching an agreement. And this problem affects most of us. A study by Consulting Psychologists Press found that 85 percent of staff members experience conflict at some point in their careers. An estimated 2.8…

Asking questions is a major part of a mediator’s job, and it meets several important objectives. First, it enables the other person to feel as though they are being heard. Second, it allows both sides to begin uncovering the source of the conflict. Third, it provides an opportunity for the emotion underlying the dispute to…

Over the last year-and-a-half, the way in which we work has completely changed. Most of us have experienced working in a virtual environment in some form or fashion. However, as we pivot toward a new normal, employees are returning to the office to conduct business face-to-face again. While organizations eagerly await a more personal way…

Like many, you may have made some commitments for the coming year, like exercising regularly, growing your business, finishing a home project. One reason so many of these resolutions fail is that they’re too broad. While admirable, these lofty goals often don’t come with action steps or a defined plan of any kind to help…