Some Stats:
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– Weekly, employers lose three hours per employee due to workplace “drama.”– 22% of employees decrease work efforts as a result of conflict.– Over 50% of employees lose work time because they are worried about whether the conflict instigator will do it again.– 12% of employees change jobs to get away from instigators.– 24% of a manager’s time is spent resolving conflicts.
If you calculate the total amount of time, energy, money, and resources routinely wasted on unresolved workplace conflicts then add in relationships destroyed, intimacies lost, and decreased productivity due to gossip, rumors, absenteeism, stress-related illness, poor morale, disruptions, turnovers, grievances, lawsuits, accidents and workers’ compensation as a result of stress and drama, this amount would be staggering. Add to that missed potential for growth, improvements and learning, increased sales and personal and organizational transformation!
Workplace Mediation
- Owners’ or HR Directors’ “secret weapon”
- No business or organization is too small or too large to be affected and able to benefit
- Single engagement or long-term, regular part of the process (independent contractor/retainer)
- Neutral third party
- External third party
- No entries in personnel files
- Truth/honesty, confidentiality and transparency
- No lingering grudges
- See list of issues that can be resolved through workplace mediation
- Miscommunication and its results: Lack of feedback and communication of resolution, avoid speculation = cause of drama
- Fostering honest feedback
Workshops
Creating Synergy in the Workplace | Corporate Culture
- True teamwork
- Employee retention
- Office vs Home Office vs Shared Office
- Fosters progress
- Automatic cost cutting
- Win-win
- Improves competitiveness
- Cross-training
- Continuing education, cost and access, benefits
- Respect
- Transparency vs. secrecy
- Volunteering
- Team building
- Incentives
- Givers gain
- Open-door policy
- Provide feedback
Power of a Sincere Apology
- One important element of the so-called 12-step program is the apology. Why?
- It expresses the offender’s understanding of what he or she did wrong, how it impacted the other person(s) and most often a commitment not to repeat the offense
- Builds trust
- An insincere or fake apology will create even more conflict down the line
- An apology can not be forced by a third party. It’s ineffective. In turn, it creates resentment by the apologizer against both
- May induce oxytocin production in the other party, and therefore, change the dynamics of future relationship and communication
Benefits of Communicating with Respect
- Fundamental requirement for successful teamwork
- Creates nurturing corporate culture
- Instills trust
- Induces willingness to go above and beyond
- Carries beyond reconciliation
Cultural Differences & Conflicts in the Workplace
- Humans are hard-wired differently according to their upbringing and their culture
- Non-verbal communication plays a big role
- Misconceptions abound
- Gender-bias in different cultures
- Age-bias in different cultures
- Working together with respect and an open mind
- Part of “corporate culture”
Using Conflict as the Basis for Improvement
- Difference of opinion does not equal conflict
- Sign of issues, possibly affecting productivity
- Conflict can be good
- Brings out problems
- Work through problems for win-win solutions
- Resolve issues down to the source/core
- Eliminate future occurrences
- Hierarchy and bureaucracy may be blocking communication
Conflict Audits
- Evaluate and determine issues
- Pin-point sources
- Interview key people
- Active, neutral listening
- Analyze affect on productivity, progress, corporate culture and corporate synergy
- Sources of miscommunication or lack of communication and
- Fixes
- Pin-point potential recurring bottlenecks and solutions
- Feedback
Conflict Coaching
- Analyze the conflict from various perspectives
- Improve analytical and communication skills
- Develop options to deal with the conflict
- Develop an action plan
- Feedback
Conflict Coaching and Defusing Anger at Work
(With 45% of people regularly losing their tempers at work and 65% of people experiencing office rage, according to the Mental Health Organization’s Boiling Point report, workplace anger is far from uncommon)
- Acknowledge the Anger
- Reroute the Anger
- Come up with a Plan
- Contemplate Consequences
- Approach with Peace
- Engage Empathy
- Communicate clearly
Anger Management – at Work and at Home
- Recognize Anger and its short and long-term Impact
- Cause & Effect – the Emotions creating Anger
- Learn to recognize, cope and defuse The Triggers
- Choices – the 3 Rs – Retreat, Rethink, finally Respond/React
- Measures – Breathing Techniques, Sports, Music, Rx
- Communication & Transparency
- Gratitude Practice
- Healthy Lifestyle
- Self-Reflection (One-on-One)
Non-verbal Communication in the Workplace (90+ % NV)
- Attire
- Punctuality
- Cleanliness (OCD)
- Posture
- Expression of mood and feelings (emoticons)
- Eyes
- Mouth
- Tone of voice
- Personal space
- Seating arrangements
- Reactions
- Socially inappropriate behaviors
- Dyssemia
- Personal comfort zone
- Expected level of professionalism
- Sharing
- Expectations
- Empathy
- Listening (effective, focused) – active v. passive, hearing v. listening (physiological v. psychological)
- Chosen form/medium of community
- Humor v. sarcasm
- Perceived power or status of parties
What is “Conflict” and its Paradox
- Conflict-avoiding culture
- Conflict as opportunity
- Conflict as source of positive change
- Conflict – positive vs. negative
- Passive-aggressive behaviors
Impact of Corporate or Organizational History on Positive Change
- The family business
- Rules and structure
- Resistance to change
- Technology
- Communication
- Transparency
- Accountability and follow-up
- Ideal corporate culture
- Finding and keeping the perfect employee
Conquering Anxiety by natural Means
- Know thy triggers
- What is fear
- Yoga, sports and dance
- Meditation
- Breath work
- Sleep
- Music, sounds and vibrations
- Nutrition and Ayurveda
- Consumption
- Reflection
- Communication and truth
- Reiki, energy work and opening chakras
- Recognizing trauma
Work Life Balance
- Family obligations – multi-generational
- Financial constraints
- Purposeful budgeting
- Realistic career perspectives
- Continuing education
- Hobbies and vacations
- Yoga, sports and dance
- Meditation
- Flextime
- Cyber culture
- Social Media
- Sleep
Executive Training Series:
- Work life balance
- Stress management
- Successful multi-tasking
- Pros and cons of delegating
- Communication with employees
- Communication with owners and stockholders
- Utilizing technology
- Maximizing the virtual office
- Transparency and accountability
- Time management
- Mental, emotional & physical health
- Recovery for substance use, chronic and psychosomatic illnesses
- Friendships vs networking
- Spotting and avoiding conflicts of interest
- Recognizing and conquering procrastination
- Finding and keeping the perfect employee
BCM’s lead facilitator is not only an experienced business and management consultant, a motivational speaker, a professional mediator and conflict coach with a law degree and MBA, she is also an accomplished yoga instructor and Reiki Master. Much of her work frequently draws from knowledge in the areas of yoga – Kundalini, Hatha, Yin and Vinyasa, meditation, breath work, neuroscience, psychology, Ayurveda and nutrition, aromatherapy, vibrational frequencies and chakras, which she then incorporates into her teachings, coaching and workshops for clients’ optimal performance and quality of life.
“Gossip and rumors are highly volatile, damaging, and inaccurate causing avoidable drama and loss of productivity.“