In this TEDx Talk, keynote speaker Liz Kislik argues that to resolve workplace conflicts organizational leadership needs to look deeper into the structures that underlie conflict rather than attempt to resolve conflicts with departments or individuals. Kislik illustrates common dimensions of workplace conflict with personal examples from her practice as a business coach and management consultant and offers a five-step plan for addressing conflict in most professional contexts.
In my department we have learning designers (LD) and instructional technologists (IT) working in tandem to design impactful learning experiences for online adult learners. Over the past year, tensions between the two groups have risen as competencies and skill sets overlap, roles and responsibilities shift and timelines evaporate. Kislik suggests identifying dysfunctional individuals who may be a source of conflict, and sort them out through coaching, counseling, or corrective action. We have tried this, but to no avail mostly due to an unwritten policy of conflict avoidance. Second, ask the right people the right questions, and third make sure everyone is aligned; knows the goals, who is responsible for what, etc. This is where I have decided to act with my supervisor’s permission. I have devised a short conflict assessment survey that will go out next week to gauge LD and IT perceptions of their roles and responsibilities, and to assess what people feel is working and not working. My goal is to surface underlying issues or at least hints of underlying issues that can address process and substantive conflicts at a time when projects are piling up. Following this discovery, I will work with leadership to devise plans for department members to address conflict in more timely and professional ways.
LO2: Demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communication goals.
Comments