Leading Effectively e-Newsletter - January 2003 Issue

The Conflict Issue

Conflict occurs when people possess or express contrary values, interests, goals, orientations, principles or feelings. At its core, conflict is division and discord between people, interests or ideas. Conflict is also natural - where there are people, there will be conflict. But if conflict at work is inevitable, it doesn't have to be destructive. Whether you're at odds with your boss, your direct reports or your peers, there are ways to minimize and direct conflict.

This issue of the e-newsletter is based on three CCL guidebooks:

Managing Conflict with Direct Reports

Managing Conflict with Your Boss

Managing Conflict with Peers

Getting Hot: Recognizing the Triggers of Conflict
Five minutes into the meeting, you find yourself getting agitated. You're hot and flushed, and your heart starts to pound. Chances are, you're experiencing workplace conflict. Emotions - such as anger, frustration or helplessness - are part and parcel of conflict. But by knowing your emotional triggers, or "hot buttons," you can better manage conflict. (more...)

Facing Conflict? It's a Leader's Lot
New and experienced managers alike encounter conflict day in and day out. It's one of the most difficult challenges they face. But successful leaders learn productive ways to minimize the problems caused by conflict and, in fact, generate positive outcomes. (more...)

Managing Conflict with Your Boss
What happens when you and your boss don't see eye-to-eye? Do you work though it? Let it simmer? Or does it blow up into a full-scale, high-emotion confrontation? Whatever the reaction, conflict with your boss can make or break your ability to be an effective leader. (more...)

Managing Conflict with Direct Reports
Avoidance is a common response to conflict with direct reports. But for most new managers, it is a strategy that will backfire. Leaving conflict unattended not only breeds trouble in the organization, but it can put the breaks on your leadership potential. (more...)

Managing Conflict with Peers
Power and politics are among the trickier aspects of conflict resolution when dealing with your peers. Conflicts that arise from incompatible goals or from different views on how a task should be accomplished can usually be resolved. But when peer conflicts involve office politics and power, you may find yourself struggling to achieve your professional and organizational goals. (more...)

Leadership Poll Results

Kate Beatty

"Strategic Leadership" Poll Results
The focus of our December 2002 e-Newsletter was "Developing Strategic Leadership Teams." The online poll tapped reader opinions on their experience with strategic leadership teams (SLTs) - teams whose work has strategic implications for a particular business unit, product line, service area, functional area, division or company. Nearly 200 readers responded. Kate Beatty, CCL's program manager for Developing the Strategic Leader, commented on the findings. (more...)

Conflict Resolution Skills: A Necessity for the Emerging Leader
As demonstrated by the articles in this month's e-Newsletter, good conflict resolution skills are fundamental for all leaders. Teaching an emerging leader to deal with conflict is one of the goals of the Center's Foundations of Leadership program. Additionally, this three-day program addresses personal awareness and growth, working relationships, and influencing skills, with the goal of helping the individual improve leadership skills and behaviors at a formative stage in his or her career. (more...)