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Important Topics on Harnessing the Power of Conflict

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Resoblog

Four Myths That Perpetuate Abrasive Behavior At Work

When we join a company, partnership or team, our expectation is that everyone involved will exhibit professional behavior toward us and each other. Instead, it’s highly possible that we may become one of the more than 60 million adults in the United States who are affected in some way by bullying behavior at work.

What kind of behaviors are we talking about? Our definition is any interpersonal behavior that causes emotional distress in others sufficient enough to impede their productivity or disrupt organizational functioning. It isn’t just a personality conflict — it’s a chronic pattern of disrespectful behavior.

When your business team starts spiraling down

A healthy business team is one with strong relationships and vibrant engagement. It’s a beautiful place to be, where people feel heard and creative ideas bump against each other in an open, constructive way. We call it the Creative Tension Zone and it’s the dream (or should be) of any organization with an aim toward consistent growth.

Teams fall out of this place for various reasons, and the spiral downward can devolve into destructive conflict. It is critical to know where you and your team are on the Conflict Curve in order to make good decisions in “real time” so you can recognize what’s happening and pull your team back from the Conflict Spiral abyss.

The Difference Between HR and Organizational Ombuds Functions

On average an ombuds will see 3-5% of an organization’s members in the course of a year. Our work as organizational ombuds has increased steadily over the last couple of years, where we’re initially called in because someone in leadership is being dogged by a “small” conflict that won’t go away but keeps festering and growing until they can’t sweep it under the rug any longer. (From there, we typically enter a contractual arrangement with clients where we serve as their ongoing go-to ombuds, mediator, and conflict adviser.)

10 Ways an Ombudsman Can Increase Your Workplace Productivity

He could have been sitting in the corner of the conference room where I was convening as Organizational Ombuds for a team that was stuck - there was (emotional) clutter, plenty of discord, and a really difficult situation. Tension was high, people were venting. At any moment (my experience told me) someone could explode with frustration. It was like a freight train approaching the room, about to crash!

Creative Tension in the Workplace: Who needs it? You do!

Creative Tension Zone is where huge ideas emerge, innovation thrives, and empires are built! The most successful workplace teams know how to manage constructive conflict to encourage creative tension. What every leader needs to know about leveraging the power of conflict in a team.

Workplace Conflict: How to Deal with Hot Buttons

Have you ever said: “That person just presses my buttons”? We call these 'conflict hooks', because your reaction to the button-pusher has the potential to feed conflict. Understanding what conflict hooks are can help you and your team make better response choices.

9 Early Warning Signs of Workplace Conflict

Conflict doesn't just appear out of nowhere. There are always signs warning that a conflict is developing. Managers who know what these signs are can be more effective leaders by confronting the problem before it rages out of hand. By resolving conflict in the early stages, the company will run much more smoothly and the overall productivity level will be increased considerably. What are these subtle signs of conflict to look for?...

September 23, 2021

10 Quick Tips for Leading Team Conversations in Stressful Situations

September 23, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

Crisis situations can bring out the best — and the worst — in leaders, teams, employees, partners. We’re only human, and stressful situations cause humans to react emotionally, which tends to show up as anger, fear, aggression, anxiety, quick and poor decisions, and interpersonal conflict.

Let’s face it: If you have more than two people in a room tasked to accomplish something, you have the possibility of conflict — different ideas, personalities, “conflict hooks” all bouncing against each other. As common as it is in normal circumstances, conflict multiplies exponentially in unforeseen situations and crises.

August 26, 2021

Abrasive Behavior at Work: Who is the Abrasive Leader?

August 26, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

I’ve written plenty on how abrasive leadership isn’t conducive to a healthy, conflict-competent workplace environment. But what about the abrasive leader? How does this behavior affect them?

The defining traits that will damage an abrasive leader’s career will also damage their personal lives. An abrasive leader isn’t only likely to find themselves on the ropes professionally, they’re going to face real world consequences in every area of their life.

Common co-worker complaints of repeated behaviors are: public humiliation, unpredictable or demeaning behavior, yelling or lack of emotional control, inappropriate hostile or sexual comments or behaviors, maligning another’s character or reputation Do you think someone who exhibits these characteristics professionally suddenly flips a switch on their way out of the office to transform into a considerate, encouraging, or stable individual in their personal life?

August 12, 2021

Time Capsules and Change

August 12, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

Over the years, I have done my share of renovating houses or commercial buildings that I’ve owned. I developed the tradition of creating a time capsule and inserting it somewhere in the structure — behind a wall, under a floor — so that 100 years later somebody will uncover it. I love to imagine someone finding it and seeing a snapshot from the past tied to something dear to them, and me.

One renovation was a building built in the 1890s and needed a lot of work. The plan was to convert it to an office building to work in and lease out. Our hopes were super high and we were feeling really positive that we were onto something special with this new business concept, so the renovation was a labor of love (and a lot of our money).

July 23, 2021

Abrasive Behavior at Work: What is Your Role?

July 23, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

If you are a CEO, manager, HR professional, or coach/ombuds/mediator who is working on-site, please read on….

According to the Society of Resource Management (SHRM), 87% of employees say that workplace incivility has negatively affected their performance. So, at this moment you can safely assume that one or more employees in your organization might be experiencing abrasive behavior — not only negatively affecting their performance, but also their morale, and emotional and physical health.

It is your role to intervene. Employers have a responsibility to manage both performance and conduct, assuring the physical and psychological safety of their workforce.

And, simply put, it’s the right thing to do for your organization and your people.

July 01, 2021

Abrasive Behavior at Work: When It’s Not Just a Personality Conflict

July 01, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

It’s common to accept the abrasive behavior of someone in your workforce as just another cost of doing business. Especially if that person is in a leadership position or perceived as “too valuable” to ruffle any feathers, we’re expected to just let it slide no matter how toxic their behavior becomes.

This could be a big mistake. Choosing to avoid, excuse, or dismiss abrasive behavior in your organization is harmful — it erodes employee motivation, organizational productivity, and customer and stakeholder trust. For the individuals who are targeted? It can become a persistent, wearying, hopeless experience that leaches away their emotional and physical health, especially devastating during these days of stressful post-pandemic adjustment.

June 08, 2021

Abrasive Leaders at Work: You’re Not Helpless ...They’re Not Hopeless

June 08, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

If you have anything to do with human beings in your workplace (virtual or otherwise), please read on!

We have all experienced leaders who rub their coworkers the wrong way, where their words and actions create interpersonal friction that grates on subordinates, peers, and even superiors.

This behavior tends to be avoided, tolerated, or “forgiven” because that person is in a leadership position. Or they’re perceived to have so much value to the company that it’s “worth” the behavior.

But here is the costly truth: When this behavior is persistent (chronic) it plagues the workplace causing serious harm to morale and productivity. Abrasive behaviors cause emotional distress and disrupt organizational functioning. I have seen this behavior bring a team, and even an organization, to its knees.

May 25, 2021

Are You Wondering if You Are a Good Leader?

May 25, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

Within a cyber-stone’s throw you can find leadership assessments that list any number of essential qualities a “good” leader must possess. Many relate to the systems you’ve built around your people: Are you hiring good people? Do you have effective onboarding and training systems? Are you holding on to your best people? Do you have good succession planning in place?

All important skills, to be sure — and measurable. But, as they say, skills and systems are only as good as the people who apply them. I have come to believe that behaviors are the root-cause drivers of a leader’s ability to succeed, and be a good leader.

Experts on the Forbes Human Resources Council offer their take on some essential traits leaders need to have, such as: High EQ (emotional intelligence) and AQ (adaptability), active listening, empathy, open communication, hyper-transparency, receptivity, and mindfulness. Music to my ears in my work coaching executive level leaders — yet it’s tough to measure “soft skills” like these.

May 20, 2021

The Silent Ones in Your Workforce (And how to start listening to them)

May 20, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

Excerpted from Forbes Coaches Council article by Mark Batson Baril, Feb. 16, 2021

A little over three percent of an organization’s population used the Office of the Ombuds as a resource to resolve a variety of conflict issues, according to a recent internal study of 164 ombuds offices in the U.S. and Canada.

What are the implications of this finding to your organization?

Without an ombuds or similar structure in place to address conflict, 3.2% of most organizations’ employees believe they have nowhere to turn to resolve issues they have within their workplace. If you have 100 people in your organization, it’s likely that three of them are dealing with something right now at work that is troubling them, and that could potentially create a negative ripple effect throughout the organization.

Who Are The Silent Ones?

April 29, 2021

“Time’s Up” on Bad Leadership Behavior: Lessons From Scott Rudin’s Story

April 29, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

The Washington Post headline says it all: “Scott Rudin’s bad behavior was just another Hollywood cliche until a new generation said time’s up.” You may know Scott Rudin as an award-winning film, television and theater producer, whose film successes include No Country for Old Men, Lady Bird, Fences, The Social Network, Clueless, and Broadway shows like The Book of Mormon.

For me as a conflict advisor and Boss Whispering® coach, Scott Rudin is the poster child of the many leaders out there who are poisoning their organizations with their disrespectful, disruptive behavior. And I’m grateful it’s been brought to light for the sake of all those people who have been emotionally harmed by an abrasive leader.

April 22, 2021

Four Reasons Why You Need to Train Your People in Conflict Management

April 22, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

[updated, April, 2018: 5 Reasons to Get Proactive on Conflict Management Training]

The benefits of skillfully managed conflict to an organization’s growth have never been more crucial than in today’s competitive, ever-changing global economy. Conversely, a dispute that is ignored or handled badly can quickly cause distraction, raise stress levels, create barriers to productivity, communications and innovation — and escalate to negative outcomes that cost an organization in measurable ways.

The literature supports conflict-competency benefits and training — but do you believe that there’s ROI on an organization’s investment in training and support for the purpose of developing conflict competency skills and systems before a dispute arises?

April 20, 2021

Business-Busting Conflicts are Frequent in Startup Teams

April 20, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

In the years I’ve worked as mediator, conflict coach, trainer, and confidant, I’ve seen hundreds of startups in conflict crisis mode — in the midst of amazing ideas, great funding, market possibilities and bright futures.

For a variety of predictable systemic reasons they had gone over the cliff so not only did they need to get their jobs done, they needed to also rebuild their teams, and in some cases, their close relationships, from the bottom up.

Back in 2013, I pulled together some statistics and takeaways on startups who fail due to conflict, drawn from my personal experience, interviews with founders, and some curiosity-inspired digging. As far as I can tell, the stats still hold up today, and I’m still working with startup teams on these same issues. So it feels worthy and important to share this information again.

April 13, 2021

How to Find Out if Chronic Bad Behavior is Poisoning Your Workplace

April 13, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

“It’s not sweat or revenue that makes companies tick; it’s trust,” says John Hall writing for Forbes.com. “Trust touches every area of business. Research published by Harvard Business Review bears this out: Workers at companies where trust is high report 106% greater energy in the office, 74% lower stress levels, 76% greater engagement, and 50% more productivity than their peers at low-trust businesses.”

Trust is a foundational principle of the work we do with teams at Resologics, which is why we study interpersonal relationship factors in the workplace that either enhance trust or erode trust.

My work with teams and leaders has convinced me that it's a worthy effort to assess individual styles and behaviors and their impact on the level of trust that bring the outcomes you see in the stats above.

April 06, 2021

Is it time to call in mediation? Advice from the field

April 06, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

Any organization can find itself facing a conflict so entrenched, so ugly, that a key person is paralyzing the productivity of an entire group, a department is chronically unable to come up with a new idea, or leadership is in such disarray that partners aren’t speaking to each other and some are ready to walk.

Negative conflicts like these can literally bring a company to its knees. I’ve witnessed too many conflicts that have become entrenched for so long that the team or partners can’t move forward. The partnership breaks up, contentious separation agreements or lawsuits follow, and hundreds if not thousands of employees are left without jobs.

Conflict is serious business. Mediation is the tool that can help people come to the table, get clear on the issues, sort out their conflicts, and put the company back on track — before it’s too late.

March 30, 2021

3 Steps to Build Trust in Your Team

March 30, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

We explored in the article, "How Trust is Essential to a Productive Workplace," what can happen when trust is missing, and how trust is a cornerstone to employee engagement, productivity, and more. As Dr. David Ballard, the head of APA's Center for Organizational Excellence, says: “...Lack of trust should serve as a wake-up call for employers...Trust plays an important role in the workplace and affects employees’ well-being and job performance."

Building trust within your team is an ongoing process that grows over time, and it starts with you as the leader of your team, department, or organization.

March 23, 2021

The High Costs Of Unmanaged Conflict In Your Organization

March 23, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

Teams conflict can result in positive or negative outcomes, but unmanaged conflict nearly always results in negative outcomes that can be measured in the form of real dollars lost. Conflict is a given, but the outcomes of that conflict are a choice. What are the consequences of choosing to ignore conflict?

Estimating the costs of unmanaged conflict

We have developed a survey tool to help our clients (team leaders, startup partners and other professionals) identify and quantify the likely costs of conflict to their particular organization. Our "Cost of Conflict Calculator" tool estimates costs using averaged industry data and a team's dynamic information. The survey questions are designed to collectively support an estimate of past and future dollar costs of the conflict their team is experiencing.

March 02, 2021

Reorganize Your Workforce For 2021: Three Positive Takeaways From The Pandemic

March 02, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

[Reprinted from Forbes Coaches Council article by Mark Batson Baril, January 25, 2021]

The business response to the crises brought about by the pandemic has created deep changes and unexpected ripple effects throughout the world of teams. In my work as a conflict advisor, I’m seeing many companies struggle with the unintended consequences of shifting roles, relationships and expectations in their workforce.

The traveling sales team came back to the “office” and assignments got shuffled around. Employees working from home had to find new ways of communicating to get things done. Marketing and distribution pivots affected company teamwork on almost every level. Layoffs, furloughs, firings and staffing reassignments caused an undercurrent of uncertainty that hasn’t gone away and has raised questions: Who’s leaving? Who’s staying? How will positions shift? What’s my role now? Will we all still get along?

February 23, 2021

Got Conflict? How to Measure the Dollar Cost of Negative Conflict in Your Workplace

February 23, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

Got Conflict? Is it helping or hurting your team? Find out right now by measuring the dollar costs.

“Show me the money!”

In my work with companies around conflict and its costs, I have heard that iconic statement from many, many people. Business savvy folks want to know what a conflict is actually costing them in real dollars. We set out in 2013 to build a single calculator that would show exactly that, and the result is the Cost of Conflict Calculator™. A few years later and over 2,000 responses (and counting as we continue to successfully offer this tool), that journey has reinforced three major points:

There is a duality to conflict. Conflict will always exist and there are positive and negative outcomes from conflict depending upon how it is managed.
Creativity and innovation are deeply affected by how a work team deals with conflicting ideas and task conflicts.
We are able to measure and put a value on the positive and negative outcome of conflicts.

January 28, 2021

How To Build Or Repair Trust In Your Team: The Trust Formula

January 28, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

[Reprint from Forbes.com article by Forbes Coaches Council Member Mark Batson Baril, September 28 2020]

Over the years as an organizational ombuds, I have witnessed the dynamics of thousands of interpersonal relationships in teams. What key factor, particularly during any period of crisis, differentiates the high-performing, responsive team from the one that goes down in flames?

The factor that consistently rises to the top is trust. Mavenlink’s “Future of Work” survey highlights trust as “a pillar of strong work cultures.” More than half of respondents listed it as a top-three preference for “what enables a workplace culture that creates success.”

January 19, 2021

What a Manager Can and Should Do to Stop Bullying Behavior at Work

January 19, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

“All managers should understand the importance of differentiating performance from conduct, and know how to manage both.” ~ Dr. Laura Crawshaw, An EAP Approach to End Workplace Bullying

We have all experienced leaders who rub their coworkers the wrong way, plaguing the workplace with interpersonal friction that harms morale and productivity. In fact, 19% of us may find ourselves in a bullying situation at work, according to a Workplace Bullying Institute survey.

Especially in the high-tension, uncertain environment we’re experiencing lately, you might be having this experience right now. As a conflict advisor and team coach, I’ve worked with abrasive leaders more times than I’d like to admit. Sometimes I can see a conflict situation brewing that is more than a personality clash — it’s chronic behavior that needs addressing before it poisons the entire team or organization.

January 14, 2021

Your Organizational Ombuds: When Abrasive Behavior Enters Your Organization

January 14, 2021/ Mark Batson Baril

In my work as an Ombudsman, Mediator and Conflict Resolver, I have encountered thirteen situations to date that have involved a leader with an abrasive leadership style. It’s been hard for me to admit, but it took eight of those cases over several years before I really understood what was going on — and what to do about it.

In most of those cases the teams and organizations worked toward agreements that more or less stuck and the team’s performance improved. Yet, remaining underneath those changes was the abrasive behavior of the leader/individual that had not been addressed in a substantial way.