Conflict Management Coaching - IPMA

■ conflict management ■ conflict management ■ conflict management ■
decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and the related
expenses due to disability and medical/stress leave, attrition, litigation
and grievances. Some of the worse case scenarios relating to illmanaged
conflict and which cause enormous problems and expense
for organizations include discrimination, harassment, bullying,
mobbing, abuse of authority, property damage, violence and the ensuing
legal ramifications. One aspect of interpersonal conflict that is
often overlooked is its impact on the organization’s reputation and
credibility as a workplace and client of choice. To state the obvious,
workplaces where conflict is not well managed invite these and other
humongous losses. Doing nothing or only minimal interventions
about workplace conflict conveys a dangerous message to all
concerned and condones the conduct that has the potential for creating
poisoned work environments.
A very basic and simple calculation of the cost of conflict to an organization
may be done by multiplying the number of hours spent by
each staff member involved in just one interpersonal dispute, by their
hourly wage. Since the impact of interpersonal disputes usually
extends well beyond those directly involved in a dispute, this time
computation would include hours of HR professionals and other staff
discussing the issues with the disputants, coworkers, managers and
union representatives. By computing the number of hours spent over
the duration of the conflict which often starts before and extends after
the conflict is resolved, the number of hours and costs rise exponentially.
If everyone on staff quantified the hours and costs this way for
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just one interpersonal workplace conflict, the business case becomes
unequivocal, for having processes in place that help leaders and staff
members effectively engage in conflict.
Conflict as an Opportunity
A starting point for building conflict competent workplaces requires
a proactive and systems approach that accepts the concept that
engaging in interpersonal conflict rather than avoiding it presents an
opportunity to build relationships, share ideas and opinions and
create mutually satisfying solutions. To make a paradigm shift as
such, organizations need to commit to developing a culture of
conflict competence by naming effective conflict management skills
as a core competency for all staff and support that initiative with the
requisite training and coaching. Competency for leaders, for instance,
may be of the nature of coaching direct reports about their interpersonal
conflict, conducting difficult conversations, facilitating discussions
between and among disputing staff members, etc. It is equally
as important to provide easily accessible conflict management and
engagement options for staff, aimed at addressing the range of
conflicts that occur in the workplace. Such initiatives are ideal though
not a common phenomenon, mostly due to concerns about financial
commitment. However, that argument does not reconcile with the
high costs of conflict previously noted.
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