Dealing with conflict is something that many of us struggle with. We avoid contentious situations and would rather walk away than have an argument. In life, this can be a good thing in most cases. There’s nothing wrong with avoiding conflict where you can, and it’s perfectly fine to be someone that would rather keep the peace. But it’s not always right. Even if you don’t like conflict, you should be prepared to fight for what you believe in, even if you do it calmly instead of shouting the odds.
But, in business, being able to deal with conflict is crucial. There will be tension. There will be arguments. You will have to stand up for your business from time to time, and deal with issues with staff. You can’t know what the strife that you might face will be, but, you can be sure that it will come. And, when it does, you’ll want to be good at dealing with conflict.
Don’t Think You Must Shout
Shouting isn’t dealing with conflict well. Those that shout and argue think that they are excellent in contentious situations, but they usually just increase the tension, and they certainly don’t encourage respect. Know that you don’t have to shout to deal with conflict and to calm things down. You don’t have to change who you are. Being calm, rational and thoughtful, can have much greater effects.
Learn
If you are nervous about dealing with conflicts in your business, it will show. You might make mistakes, other people might take advantage of you, and it might not go well. Look for conflict management solutions learning programs that can help you to improve your skills, as well as boosting your confidence in tense situations.
Be Direct
One of the worst things that you can do when dealing with conflict is flounder. Go in with a plan. Try to gain an understanding of the situation before you approach it. Do some research, think about the outcome that you’d like, and how you are going to get there. Then, deal with the conflict in a direct manner. Don’t be intense, don’t shout or lose your temper, but don’t speak around the issues either. Dive straight in, in a direct and informed way.
Ask Questions
Ask questions, and you place yourself in a position of humility. You show that you are willing to listen and that you respect the people that you are dealing with. Ask questions about how they feel, what they’d like to do, what they think is going wrong, and specific details about the situation. They’ll respect you for it, answering your questions might calm them down, and it will help you to understand them better. Giving you the chance to tailor your own response.
Listen
You are asking questions, and you should definitely be listening to the answers. But, you should also be listening for tone and the things that aren’t necessarily being said, especially if you are trying to sort out a conflict between two or more other people.
Courtesy Of Logo Sportswear
