Communication Briefings ideas that work
Teamwork
Listening
Team Building
Professional Success
Lessons In Leadership
How to deal with conflict
To handle conflict among your team members:
- Ask those who disagree to paraphrase one another’s comments. This may help them learn if they really understand each other.
- Work out a compromise. Agree on the underlying source of conflict, then engage in “give and take” and finally agree on a solution.
- Ask each member to list what the other side should do. Exchange lists, select a compromise all are willing to accept and test the compromise to see if it meshes with team goals.
- Have each side write 10 questions for their counterparts. This will allow them to signal their major concerns about the other group’s position and the answers may lead to a compromise.
- Convince team members they sometimes may have to admit they’re wrong. Help them save face by convincing them that changing a position shows strength.
- Respect the experts on the team. Give their opinions more weight when the conflict involves their expertise, but don’t rule out conflicting opinions.
Why we don’t hear others
If you want to listen so you really hear what others say, make sure you’re not a:
- Mind reader. You’ll hear little or nothing as you think,“What is this person really thinking or feeling?”
- Rehearser. Your mental tryouts for “Here’s what I’ll say next” tune out the speaker.
- Filterer. Some call this selective listening or hearing only what you want to hear.
- Dreamer. Drifting off during a face-to-face conversation can lead to an embarrassing “What did you say?” or “Could you repeat that?”
- Identifier. If you refer everything you hear to your experience, you probably didn’t really hear what was said.
- Comparer. When you get side tracked assessing the messenger, you’re sure to miss the message.
- Derailer. Changing the subject too quickly tells others you’re not interested in anything they have to say.
- Sparrer. You hear what’s said but quickly belittle it or discount it. That puts you in the same class as the derailer.
- Placater. Agreeing with everything you hear just to be nice or to avoid conflict does not mean you’re a good listener.
-Adapted from The Writing Lab, Department of English, Purdue University Press, 1356 Heavilon Hall, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
Encourage risk-taking or lose creativity
Leaders who fail to encourage risk-taking face an even greater risk: a stagnant organization caused by executives who can’t make decisions because they fear making a mistake.
Former Johnson & Johnson CEO James Burke learned a similar lesson from General Johnson himself when Burke developed a $1 million product that tanked. When Burke was called to Johnson’s office, he was sure he was going to be fired. Instead, Johnson congratulated him and said, “All business is making decisions, and if you don’t make decisions, you won’t have any failures.” Johnson warned Burke that he would be fired if he made the same mistake again, but made sure the rising young star knew that taking risks was part of leading.
Creativity dies in an atmosphere where people are afraid to take risks.
-Adapted from “Executive Word,” David Drickhamer, Industry week, www.industryweek.com
Succeed by tackling the hard part first
While most people tend to start with the easiest facets of a problem - perhaps to give themselves confidence or because they’re experienced in that area - effective leaders know they’ve got to focus on the toughest parts of a project first.
Take the example of aviation pioneers, the Wright Brothers. Until 1903, few thought it was possible to build a machine that would carry men into the air; no one expected two bicycle manufacturers to pull it off. One reason the Wright brothers succeeded: They tackled the hard part first.
Orville and Wilbur Wright knew they had a lot to overcome to get an airplane to lift off. But they also understood that without balance and control, they couldn’t fly the machine even if they got it off the ground. So, that’s where they focused their mental efforts. That determination to tackle the hard stuff paid off when Wilbur was tinkering with a cardboard box and noticed what happened when he twisted it. That led to the concept of wing torsion - still in use today - which makes the wings both rigid and flexible.
-Adapted from The Wright Way, Mark Eppler, AMACOM, www.amacom.org.
Match your style to the your organization’s personality
On a one-to-one basis, a savvy leader will frequently adjust his or her communication style to match distinctly different personalities. In a similar way, it’s important to modify your approach based on the personality or culture of your organization.
Examples: Home Depot’s culture is action-oriented, so its leaders typically set tight deadlines to take advantage of employees’ ability to perform well under pressure.
Winnebago Industries employees are known for tackling anything new, exciting and adventurous. So that company’s leaders frequently refer to adventure and excitement when motivating employees.
Hallmark employees believe strongly in doing the “right thing,” so
that company’s leaders know the best way to motivate them is to show
how new initiatives will support the company’s ethical, family-like culture.
-Adapted from Companies are People Too, Sandra
Fekete, John Wiley & sons
Inc.
Briefings Publishing Group. 1101 King Street • Suite 110 • Alexandria,
VA 22314 • 800-722-9221 or 703-518-2343
