CONFLICT RESOLUTION & RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT...

… Appropriate Resolutions™ for home, work, community, and everywhere in between.

© 1998-2008 Joseph Ravick  and Appropriate Resolutions™

 

“HOW KAREN AND HER COLLEAGUES CHANGED THEIR WORKPLACE REALITY” continued.

 

        

FOCUS ON OPERATIONAL STAFF: through a process similar to the leadership team’s, two inter-dependent teams clarified individual and group needs and committed to interpersonal and operational norms (standards).

 

FOCUS ON ALIGNMENT - PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER: staff and leaders were aligned so that everyone was on the same page (a common understanding) and committed to a shared vision, mission, and ‘best practices.’

        

FOCUS ON MAINTENANCE: Team maintenance being a critical element for long term stability, and so that history wouldn’t repeat itself, work-groups and teams developed maintenance strategies for difference-management, decision-making, and problem-solving.

 

              To emphasize the critical nature of Relational Maintenance (RM), a strategy for any environment, I also stressed that their progress was a beginning, not an end. That relationships, like their cars, require ongoing maintenance if they are to 'function'.

 

               Like that metaphorical car which has never been tuned or maintained, a relationship in which 'bumps and grinds' are ignored will no doubt begin spewing ‘black smoke’ as it breaks down; not so much different from Karen's experiences as she described them. People continue to do nothing and expect their ‘relationship vehicle’ to take them where they want to go. Rarely is that their reality. I also hunch that most know differently as they maintain their motor-vehicles. Human relationships are even more complex and unpredictable than any machine and often more fragile than that prized auto. If relationships are to keep on working without someone ‘blowing a gasket’, they will need maintenance and periodic ‘fixing’.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: a preferred reality and optimistic future

                                  I am always inspired as I observe leaders and staff move from misery to hope and from frustration to relative satisfaction. Once people have a map they can follow, and adequate resources for the journey, most people will work to create their preferred reality. The process is rarely easy and for some, it may be the most difficult thing they do. The bottom line is that “…the outcome will be worthwhile and a healthier organization will evolve.”

    

               What is surprising to some is that the same principles apply to any group which has to manage conflict-related challenges. The words and details may sound and look different, but people are human so many of the same principles apply. And for the icing on the cake, the resolution process, when successful, will help people to grow and groups to re-vitalize. People only need to accept the risk, 'put the monsters on the table', and then tame them.

 

               That is if healthy and functioning relationships are a priority.