When you are in conflict- or crisis-mode, the tendency is to get emotionally charged and that sometimes leads to folks taking actions that are unhealthy for the business.
Here are four steps that I adopted from the University of Maryland’s Leadership Program to deal with communicating during crisis or conflict:
1) Separate the People from the Problem
A good communication about conflict should focus on the underlying problem (not the person).
Two examples:
” We just discovered that we did not ship out products to certain customers over the last 10 days and now sales will be down 16% this month” (good)
“George (in Shipping) slipped up and forgot to confirm that our shipping facility received our go-ahead to ship products out this month…and our sales are plummeting” (bad)
If you indeed do have a person-problem, then deal with the problem as a relationship problem by talking directly to the person you have a problem with (i.e. George)
2) Generate a Variety of Possible Solutions before Deciding What to Do
Don’t assume there is just one solution.
Example:
“After discussing this with all of you, we have two potential solutions:
- Do nothing and just ship the customers their products late
- Send an apology email to each customer that their shipment will be late and that they will receive a bonus product as a thank you for their patience.”
And it doesn’t have to be your solution versus your team’s solution.
3) Insist That Results Be Based On Some Objective Standard.
Examples:
- Efficiency
- Profitability
- Cash flow
- Ethics
That way, you and your team can measure how you get out of the crisis/conflict.
And if you’re involved in a conflict and feeling angry about it, this Chinese Proverb has proven invaluable to many people:
“Never write when you’re angry.”
It’s better to pause, collect your thoughts first and even talk to a colleague if you can…then start writing when you’re more calm.
Your communication will now be more effective.