The coronavirus crisis has triggered far-reaching changes and necessitated new business strategies, which will necessarily result in organizational changes. However, any change usually also carries the potential for conflict and often results in clashes of interest within the management team. The way in which the management team handles this is one of the most important indicators of successful implementation of the change. Small differences and fluctuations in the leadership team not only slow down its effectiveness, but can also have a ripple effect on the entire organization. This can jeopardize the entire change process. It’s better not to let it get that far. But how?
The Corona crisis has triggered far-reaching change processes. Customer and value chains are changing. The new business strategies that are required will necessarily entail changes in organizational structures, business processes, competence requirements, culture and collaboration.
Any change usually also carries potential for conflict! People are creatures of habit, they defend their status quo. Even just accepting change takes mental energy.
Whether it’s a changed workplace, a different position in the organization chart or a new role, such situations almost always have the potential for interpersonal friction.
It is not uncommon to find yourself asking: Did my colleague get the better deal? Why me? What is fair here? Do I have to take a position against someone? Who actually decided this?
There is plenty of material here with the potential to cause lasting harm to needs and feelings, or at least to sow doubt. Such injuries can become ‚hot‘ conflicts and overshadow entire organizations for years. Conflicts not only influence our relationships, they limit our perception and permeate our intentions and behavior by ‚obscuring‘ our access to objectivity. We become emotionally involved. This creates a defensive, sometimes even openly or covertly aggressive attitude. Conflicts thus prevent the openness and creative, proactive and solution-oriented participation that would actually be necessary in these phases of change. A constructive conflict culture is therefore the basis for successful change management.
It all comes down to the conflict culture
The conflict culture within an organization always starts with the management team. A coordinated management team that is ‚at peace with itself‘ and visibly pulling in the same direction is the decisive prerequisite for creating openness and trust .
A far-reaching change usually already causes clashes of interests within the management team. In my experience, the way the management team deals with this is one of the most important indicators of later success in implementing the change. Small differences and fluctuations within the management team not only slow down its effectiveness, but can also have a ripple effect on the entire organization. Employees often have a sixth sense for perceiving even the smallest climatic fluctuations between managers. No wonder – we all learn as children to recognize (and exploit) the slightest differences between our parents, for example. Such discrepancies thus endanger the credibility of the management team and the planned change.
The better the leadership team is at identifying and resolving its own conflicts of interest and conflicts, the more credible a planned change will be perceived to be from the outside.
Conflict culture can be learned
Constructive conflict culture can be trained by learning……
to address conflicts of interest openly and to resolve them constructively together
- … finding the right language that neither escalates nor represses conflicts. Because in this case, they will come up sooner or later (and usually exactly when you don’t need them…)…
- addressing your own needs (personal and professional) appropriately so that they can be appreciated and satisfied
- … to be aware of one’s own feelings in order to be able to react empathetically to those of colleagues
All of this is the basis for being able to make even painful decisions together – without loss of face for an organization and its representatives. A constructive conflict culture enables trusting cooperation at eye level and thus an efficient and, above all, effective decision-making culture. It creates a climate characterized by mutual trust and respect – which in turn is transferred from the management team to the entire organization.
All of this can be learned – by any (management) team. Even when conflicts have already become entrenched and manifested.
With the help of an accompanying mediation process (before or after the seminar), even dynamic, ‚full-blown‘ conflicts can be brought under control.
Devoting a day or two to the management team’s own conflict culture pays off in many ways:
- In the trust and respect that characterizes the cooperation and the effectiveness of the management team
- In the speed and quality with which decisions are made in the future and, above all, how they are implemented
- In the credibility with which these decisions are perceived and taken seriously by outsiders
- In the trust that employees also place in these decisions
- In the way leaders are perceived as role models
- In the personal stress level of each management team member
- The way in which mistakes and differences of opinion are dealt with – which in turn promotes innovative and solution-oriented thinking
- By improving the general culture and stress levels in the organization, because people no longer have to be ‚on guard‘ for what might happen
This makes a conflict workshop for the management team a functional building block in a transformation process. And it also provides a little ‚wellness‘ for your personal stress level – both at work and at home, because the basics of conflict management can be applied in any area of life.
We offer conflict workshops and conflict management training in different formats:
- As a one-day or multi-day event (as needed)
- Virtual or as a face-to-face seminar with individual preparatory discussions
- Embedded in a comprehensive transformation process
- But also as a singular measure/training for (management) teams.
If desired, a conflict seminar can be very effectively enriched with scientific personality tests that help to identify important aspects of one’s own conflict behavior.
We will work with you to design an individual workshop concept tailored to your needs and help you on your way to a constructive conflict culture.
It’s worth it!
If you are interested, please contact me or us directly!
