Look Deeper When Managing Conflict

This article and its related blog series is about managing unintentional conflict in business, and the dramatic benefits of doing so. But why unintentional conflict? It turns out that most conflict in business is unintentional. Yes, there are those who intentionally pick fights, damage the reputations of others, stir up controversy, and otherwise operate in a self-serving manner at the expense of others. However, in our businesses, if you take away all of that intentional conflict you are still left with a majority of the conflict.

How can that be? Most folks in business seem like decent people. If you get rid of the “bad eggs” how could there still be that much conflict? The truth is that most businesses and those of us in them create unintentional conflict – some more than others. A certain amount of this is inevitable. After all, we are not perfect. However, as I will discuss in this article, there is much that can be done to see and avoid creating unintentional conflict.

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Shared Space Is Common Ground

More and more, professionals and consultants must conduct interviews with clients and stakeholders to inform and build alignment around important initiatives and projects. The goal is to create shared space during stakeholder interviews. However, that doesn’t always happen. For example, when interviewing others, have you ever had frustrations like:
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Managing Conflict With The Boss – Tricky Business

This is the second in a series of blog articles about being thrown under the bus and what you can do about it. In the first article I suggested that you Don’t Throw People Under the Bus. There are almost always better ways to respond. Since that post several of you have asked about what you do if your boss throws you under the bus – so we are dedicating this blog to answering that question.

This is a tricky topic. Because it has many flavors, you must be careful in understanding your particular circumstance before acting. (more…)

Managing Conflict With Clients – Don’t Retaliate

This article continues my series on the phenomenon of throwing people under the bus. In the first article my advice was Don’t Throw People Under the Bus. There are usually better ways to stay safe and handle difficult situations. To that point, the second article addressed the topic, How to Avoid Being Thrown Under the Bus. Nevertheless, while prevention is an important element of staying safe, we all find ourselves under the bus at some point in our careers. What do you do if you find yourself there? Specifically, what do you do when your client throws you under the bus?
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Managing Conflict By Not Being A Victim

I started my series on bus throwing with the article, Don’t Throw People Under the Bus. Interestingly, it has become our all-time most popular Advance Update. But while people seemed to appreciate the article, they seem even more interested in hearing and talking about when they get thrown under the bus. So I decided to focus this article on how to avoid being thrown under the bus. I hope to start a dialog so people can share their experiences with “the bus” and offer advice to others who find themselves being rolled over.
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