One burden of leadership is the ability to resolve interpersonal disagreements in the team without weakening the core values that hold the team together .
I learnt the following steps as a guide to resolving conflicts without being conflicted
- Firstly define what the problem is so that you can understand it to deal with it and solve it
Any problem you cannot DEFINE, you cannot DEAL with and cannot SOLVE!
- Focus on the ISSUES at hand and not on the PERSONS so that you can get maximum cooperation from every one in resolving the issues at hand
If you focus on the persons , you might be hurting someone’s self esteem to the point that he/she becomes defensive instead of cooperating
- The moment you can define it , break it down into its component parts so that you can separate the KNOWN from the UNKNOWN and differentiate between the CAUSES and the EFFECTS
- Every MOUNTAIN of problems you see is always made up of little HILLS as its COMPONENT building blocks
- That is why several molehills of issues , if not addressed on time can become a big mountain of problems !
- For every problem , if you can DEFINE it , and DOWNGRADE it and DARE so that you can DEAL with it and solve the mountainous problem without climbing the mountain!
In the scriptures, everyone saw Goliath as a giant or mountain and were scared but David saw him as a hill or a dog and could dare him!
Any mountain you cannot DOWNGRADE to a hill , you cannot DARE and until you dare it , cannot solve or DESTROY it !
- In analyzing the component parts of the problem , do not close your mind / shut the door to new ideas
Always remember that there is always a level of SENSE in very bundle of NONSENSE
In other words , be open minded , avoid judging before hearing from all sides .
Hear from all sides but do not take sides with anyone
- Trust God for guidance and leverage of your leadership experience, expertise and exposure to resolve the issues and forge ahead with strength and love