{"id":77,"date":"2012-07-31T07:16:34","date_gmt":"2012-07-31T15:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/encouragement.com\/blog\/?p=77"},"modified":"2012-07-31T07:16:34","modified_gmt":"2012-07-31T15:16:34","slug":"bumper-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encouragement.com\/wordpress\/?p=77","title":{"rendered":"Bumper Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of my best summer memories are amusement parks and \u201cbumper cars.\u201d What fun! There\u2019s nothing like driving around a rink and giving your friends an epic impact. Boom! Take that. It\u2019s still a blast \u2013 letting that inner kid out as an adult. The joy of fender benders without insurance claims or bent fenders \u2026 what\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m convinced the game of \u201cbumper cars\u201d is also a rather popular activity at work.<\/p>\n

Collisions on the job are common and nearly unavoidable<\/strong><\/p>\n

As people go about their jobs, a few of them like to take aim at their co-workers. They don\u2019t seem to care who they run into, in fact, they may even have the attitude of the more the better \u2013 that\u2019s just how they operate. Everyone\u2019s in play. When employees go down this road there are some nasty incidents.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the majority of workers are careful about what they do and say, and how they treat others. They consciously try to avoid mishaps. However, they also can get caught up in conflicts that arise from seemingly simple misunderstandings or disagreements. The damage is significant \u2013 hurt feelings, lost respect for a co-worker(s), broken relationships, loss of motivation, and diminished trust.<\/p>\n

For managers, these workplace collisions significantly impact the functioning, cooperation, and output of their teams, and put the manager in the uncomfortable position of trying to untangle the mess.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year when we compiled \u2018The High Points Survey on Leadership,\u2019 we found just how problematic dealing with conflict (and difficult people) is for managers. They listed it as a top-10 leadership issue.<\/p>\n

The basic principles of conflict management are: don\u2019t avoid it; address issues immediately as they arise; be impartial; listen to all sides; keep your emotions neutral; when you speak, stay calm; acknowledge the feelings of those involved; reconcile differences by seeking agreement on the nature of the issue; set the expectation of resolving what can realistically be resolved; be honest, fair, and engaged; and find a way forward.<\/p>\n

Conflicts have a lot of negatives, but what about the flipside?<\/p>\n

There are some conflicts we need to promote<\/strong><\/p>\n

We may forget there\u2019s a particular type of \u201cconflict\u201d that has a good side.<\/p>\n

You can call it \u201cConstructive Disagreement\u201d \u2013 where the collision of ideas sharpens your thinking and improves your judgment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rooted in a healthy skepticism and driven by your ability to appropriately question. Not the type of questioning that puts people in awkward situations or makes them defensive, but a reflective nature intended to enhance understanding, by eliminating biases and blind spots. Deeper inquiry into important business issues, prior to decisions being made, results in better solutions, recommendations, or conclusions, because they have been more broadly explored.<\/p>\n

Veering away from differing points-of-view in order to promote \u201charmony or agreement\u201d between your employees often means important considerations are never voiced. You may end up with a friendly work environment, but you fail to effectively challenge assumptions and expand your views. That\u2019s a loss any way you look at it.<\/p>\n

My recommendation is to encourage some healthy \u201cbumping\u201d between your people\u2019s thoughts and opinions for the specific purpose of engaging the collective intellect of your staff to the benefit of your end product.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Jerry Strom<\/p>\n

For more information about our leadership development programs, please visit http:\/\/www.JerryStrom.com<\/a> . Join the mailing list to receive notice of new articles automatically.<\/p>\n

This article is based on *\u2018The High Points Survey: What Managers Most Want to Know about Leadership,\u2019 copyright 2012, by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Download the White Paper at: http:\/\/www.jerrystrom.com\/js_high-points.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of my best summer memories are amusement parks and \u201cbumper cars.\u201d What fun! There\u2019s nothing like driving around a rink and giving your friends an epic impact. Boom! Take that. It\u2019s still a blast \u2013 letting that inner kid … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership-articles"],"yoast_head":"\nBumper Cars - Encouragement for Leaders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/encouragement.com\/wordpress\/?p=77\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bumper Cars - Encouragement for Leaders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some of my best summer memories are amusement parks and \u201cbumper cars.\u201d What fun! 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