Archives for August 2017

My “Expressing Feelings” Algorithm for Difficult Workplace Conversations and Problem-Solving

“Never mind all that feelings stuff, let’s just do it”. Just do it. Just do the work. If only life were so simple. In the workplace, jointly solving problems often involves difficult conversations, and conflicting views. Difficult conversations won’t go well unless feelings are surfaced. We have to have those conversations. Change happens, finding solutions to […]

The 911 Emergency Dispatcher and the Workplace Conflict Manager: Your Solutions Connectors

Learning on the job is great, unless someone’s life or job depends on it. I often meet workplace managers who run quite successful businesses, yet feel somewhat lost, ill prepared, when a conflicted employee knocks on their door. On the contrary, 911 emergency dispatchers know exactly how to respond. The effective 911 dispatcher and workplace manager […]

Mediating the destruction of Confederacy statues in the U.S.A.

One conflict that took centre stage over the last week had to do with statues commemorating the Confederacy, and their link to racism and white supremacy. (The image above is of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, and is in Charlottesville, Virginia; credit: Joshua Roberts/Reuters) From an early age, I was put on notice about racists and […]

Make Conflict Your Organization’s Strategic Advantage

Recently, I helped a nonprofit mediate an internal conflict. The conflict involved people who were avoiding each other, because of the conflict. People often avoid each other because of conflict. However, when the employees are co-workers who need to work together, the cost of this avoidance can be high, on morale, collaboration and productivity. Alas, workplace conflict […]