Managing Conflict

Managing Conflict, A practical guide to resolution in the workplace, 2d Edition, by David Liddle, Kogan Page 2023

When you think "There has to be a better way," and "Work is a four-letter word - its not about friends and family,"  you're right.  You could be experiencing an ordinary ground-level workday disagreement of minds, or something bigger is happening, a conflict at the Board, or even at the market level, but we know that conflict in the workplace can be more than an annoying distraction  It drains good energy, makes people crazy, and generally can be a real day-spoiler. Add to that conflict hybrid working models and new unknowns in tech systems, and it becomes clear that we are going to have to call in expert help.  

David Liddle's book Managing Conflict is a great starting point, especially his case examples from Tesco, Burberry and other active, successful operations.  Conquering Liddle's very useful change framework offers a range of conflict identification and resolution formats.  Readers will be interested in his section on the cost of conflict - Chapter 5 Measuring the costs of conflict and the impact of a toxic culture -  because, says Liddle, unresolved conflict is expensive.  In fact, the author cites the Global Human Capital Report saying that - :

the average employee spends 2.1 hours a week dealing with conflict; 

34 percent of conflict is caused by stress in the workplace

33 percent of conflict is caused by heavy workloads

27 per cent of employees have witnessed conflicts leading to personal attacks

25 per cent of employees have seen conflict result in sickness or absence

9 per cent have seen workplace conflict cause a project to fail.

 Although readers may not want to take on all the author's recommendations for conflict resolution, they may choose to skip to Part Three, Resolution resources for a conflict diagnosis that identifies how bad the situation is, what the contributors are, and what methods are best suited to resolution.  Chapter 13, A quick conflict health check will help clarify your organization's current approach to conflict.  The checklist is designed to identify what's really happening inside while offering various routes to a new approach. 

Page 263, Working with feelings during conflict forces readers to confront and react to the human, emotional side of conflict. Grievances, legal approaches and other more formal, systematized methods may still contain normal human emotional reactions, but the author urges us to be prepared for these basic human reactions, no matter what level we are operating at.  

Aside from all the stress and distractions driven by workplace conflict, we now see escalations to the legal system, and that whole expensive move is also addressed in Liddle's book.  Depending on your organization's role in conflicts, from HR to other corporate or shop floor positions, getting a good overall perspective on conflict resolution approaches - before you take action - is a smart and possibly job saving plan.  Chapter 4, Managing conflict:  An employment law perspective, and Part Two, Chapter 5, Measuring the costs of conflict and the impact of a toxic culture will safely take readers to managing tough options.  

Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers,  patriciaemoody@gmail.com