Conflict is Inevitable – How You Resolve It is Optional

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Dealing with Difficult People, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

Conflict is inevitable when working with and interacting with others. It can diminish creativity, reduce productivity, impact decision-making and lead to a dysfunctional working environment. Building solid relationships with the people you work with and interact with is essential to resolving conflict and finding creative solutions. You don’t have to socialize with everyone you work with, but you must learn how to get along with them.

Peace is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope. – Gandhi.

A recent study conducted by the HayGroup, a leading authority on emotional intelligence, concluded that EQ – soft skills – are twice as important as IQ – your technical ability – for most jobs. Soft skills are the new currency in today’s workplace. If you can’t communicate effectively, actively listen to what others say and get along with them, you stand little chance of successfully resolving conflict, finding creative ways to solve problems or negotiating wins.

If we can manage conflict constructively, we harness its energy for creativity and development. – Kaye

Generally speaking, there are three types of conflict; Disagreement, Misunderstanding and Actual Conflict. Here is what you’ll be able to do to resolve them.

Disagreement: When you have different opinions about a subject and neither has the authority to change them, resolve them quickly. When the discussion gets old, respect each other’s views and agree to disagree.

Misunderstanding; When communication breaks down, and only part of the message gets through, resolve it with courtesy, respectful assertiveness and, most importantly, good active listening skills. You may have missed something that the other person said. Have them restate their position, and you restate yours.

Actual Conflict; Try to separate the person from the problem and focus on their needs. Come up with all the options available to you to resolve the situation. Be sure the solutions are based on objective standards. They can’t be because you said so.

Conflict is good in a negotiation process – it’s a clash of two ideas, which then, all being well, produces a third idea. – Roberts.

When conflict happens, step back momentarily and decide what you are prepared to do to fix it. Communication is the breakfast of champions. If you can learn to communicate your point of view so that the other person will understand and actively listen to what they have to say. In that case, you will be better positioned to resolve the conflict and find a creative solution you can agree on. Conflict is inevitable; how you resolve it is optional.

Copyright 2024 – Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. This post was written by Brian without AI assistance. Are you searching for a training provider for yourself or your management team? Brian specializes in soft skills training and leadership development. He helps others to communicate more effectively, establish rapport and build strong collaborative relationships regardless of gender or generation. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit – https;//briansmithpld.com.

Your Aging Workforce Is Your Competitive Advantage

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Competitive Advantage, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

Would it surprise you to learn that the fastest growing segment of today’s workforce is not Millenials or Gen Z—it’s Boomers? According to Gallup, that demographic is growing at 10,000 per day. Is 70 the new 60? People are living productive lives in conditions that would have curtailed their productivity and lifestyles decades ago. You are letting your most experienced employees leave, or worse, getting hired by your competition. Why not encourage them to stay, even in a part-time capacity, instead of ushering them out the door. If they are still mentally and physically capable of doing the job, have them mentor or train your new hires who may need to gain experience or know-how. Your aging workforce is your competitive advantage.

‘Intellectual capital is the sum of everything everybody in a company knows, giving it a competitive edge. Tap into the experience of an older generation.’ – Stewart.

Everything we choose to do alters our brains, fundamentally changing who we are, a process that continues until we die. Malcolm Knowles, an influential contemporary figure in adult education, believes that adults can learn new things given the correct set of circumstances and in an environment that they think is conducive to learning.

Knowles recommends applying these five adult learning principles to create a learning environment.

  1. Adults learn when they understand why something is important to know or do. Make sure everyone understands the ‘why’ in what you are trying to teach them.
  2. Adults can learn when they are free to learn in their own way. Incorporate all of the senses in your approach to ensure learning has occurred. Visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, everyone has a preferred learning style.
  3. Adults like to link new knowledge to past experiences. Any activity that gets them involved makes the learning experiential.
  4. Adults learn when the time is right for them to learn. Adults only want to understand what they need to know and when they need to know it.
  5. Adults will learn if the process and environment are positive and encouraging. Be their biggest fan. Praise their performance and give them your sincere encouragement.

‘Experience is never limited, and it’s never complete; it is an immense sensibility, a kind of spider-web suspended in the chamber of our consciousness and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue.’ – Henry James.

We must overcome the myth that older workers can’t innovate. They can form new networks in their brains whenever they pursue new interests and activities. Cognitive learning theorizes that we can boost our brain’s cognitive performance. Your aging workforce is your competitive advantage.

We aren’t born knowing how to teach others what they need to know, but our leadership development programs will train you how. Contact Brian for details.

Copyright 2024. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. This article was written without AI assistance. Are you searching for a training provider for you or your management team. To learn more about Brian and what we can do for you and your organization, visit our website, https;//briansmithpld.com

Start Embracing Your Unique Talents

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

Have you ever wondered why you do what you do and why you do it the way you do it? And why you might not fit into everyone else’s puzzle? We become who we are at a very young age. We get accustomed to acting, communicating, and interacting with others in a certain way that eventually becomes us. A person’s personality remains relatively stable throughout their lifetime. You are who you are—start embracing your unique talents.

Worth Remembering – ‘Talent is a gift, but it takes courage to use it. Don’t be afraid to do what you do best.’ – Paulo Coelho.

Have you ever scored a behavioural assessment tool to help identify your preferred behavioural style – your preferred way of behaving. To help determine your ideal career. These tools are designed to assess a person’s personality – how they like to communicate, interact with others, manage others and like to be managed. Some popular tools are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, True Color Personality Test and Clifton Strengths to name a few. I use an assessment tool based on Dr. William Marston’s DISC theory. Marston believed we are born with one of four distinct styles of behaviour.

Based on Marston’s theory

D – Dominant styles feel most comfortable is positions of authority. They seem best suited as entrepreneurs, lawyers, police officers, or any position where they are in charge.

I – Interpersonal styles prefer occupations that encompass teamwork and collaboration. They seem best suited for public relations, sales, marketing, or any position that involves working with others.

S – Steadiness styles have a way of making others feel comfortable and at ease. They seem best suited as nurses, counsellors, therapists, or any position that involves helping others.

C – Conscientious styles are true perfectionists. Their analytical skills make them outstanding planners and problem solvers. They seem best sutied as engineers, system administrators, or any position requiring standards and accuracy.

Worth Remembering – ‘Whatever the circumstances of your life, the understanding of your personality can make your preceptions clearer, your judgements sounder, and your life closer to your heart’s desire.’ – Isabel Briggs Myers.

Put your strengths to work for you. Scoring a DISC Behavioural Assessment and determining where your strengths lie and what career path may best suit you is a great way to start. Visit my website, download a Free DISC E-Book, and start embracing your unique talents. – https://briansmithpld.com/free-download/

This article was written by me – Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics without the aid of AI. To learn more about me and what I can do for you and your management team to communicate and interact with others more effectively regardless of gender or generation, you can contact me directly at – brian@briansmithpld.com

But We’ve Always Done It This Way Isn’t An Option

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Competitive Advantage, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

But we’ve always done it this way. How many times have you heard someone say that famous line? You’ve properly heard it so many times that you’ve lost count. Just because you’ve always done it that way – doesn’t necessarily mean you should keep doing it that way. In today’s fast-paced business environment, you’ll be left behind if you don’t keep pace with all those changes swirling around you. Change is constant – how you and your team adapt is optional. You need to get on board so you don’t get left behind when the train leaves the station.

Worth Remembering – The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new. – Socrates.

If you could implement changes, what would you want to stop doing, keep doing or start doing?

Stop Doing – When was the last time you reviewed your processes. Why do you do what you do, and how do you do it. Are they value-added or no longer serving you? Ask everyone on your team and solicit their input.

Keep Doing – When was the last time you reviewed your processes to ensure that what you are doing is still getting the results worth getting. Are they value-added or no longer serving you? Ask everyone on your team and solicit their input.

Start Doing – When was the last time you reviewed your processes to find a better, more efficient, cost-effective way of doing what you’re doing. Are there new technologies that other organizations use that add value and will serve you better? In my college professor days, I called those best practices.

Worth Remembering – An organization’s ability to learn and rapidly translate that learning into action is the ultimate competitive advantage. – Jack Welch.

The business environment is constantly changing. Technology is changing. Team members change. Management changes. Leadership changes. Ownership changes and organizations need to change, too. The problem isn’t change because change will happen with or without you. The problem is our inability to cope with those changes. You and your team must adapt and change with the times. You must get on board, or you will be left at the station when the train pulls away. But we’ve always done it this way isn’t an option.

Copyright 2024. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Brian Smith wrote this article without AI assistance. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Call To Action – We all manage change differently. Inquire about our DISC Strategies training program to help yourself or your team adapt to the change. Contact Brian to learn how.