Thoughts and Insights by Michael Gregory

June 2, 2023 Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Round Up

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution    

Want to know six steps recommended from medical science for resolving conflict in the workplace?

Having read this article from the Chief Medical Officer, Kierstin Kennedy, MD, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, I wanted to share with you what I learned from her article and add some additional comments based on experience to help you with resolving conflict in the workplace. How conflict is managed is up to individual leadership.  

May 26, 2023 Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Round Up

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution    

Want to know how to move past conflict avoidance?

How many times might you see something, want to say something, don’t and move on to avoid potential conflict. Let’s dig a litter deeper and look at conflict, conflict resolution at work, and conflict analysis and resolution in terms of conflict avoidance. With small things this may be fine. You have to decide when and where to act. However, there are times when there may be conflict in the work place and simply avoiding the problem can make the situation worse. It is not going to correct itself on its own. So, the question is how can you move beyond interpersonal conflict avoidance and work constructively to address a conflict at work that really needs to be addressed? This article from the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation is summarized below and contains additional commentary for your consideration.

May 19, 2023 Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Round Up

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution    

Want to know how the Harvard Program on Negotiation recommends managing conflict at work?

Conflict at work is inevitable. Conflict can be positive, collaborative, intellectually challenging, and improve productivity, employee satisfaction, and customer appreciation. However, conflict can be negative, frustrating, enhance anger, decrease morale, and harm the very things you are trying to accomplish. Looking at conflict analysis and resolution a little deeper, what does the Harvard Program on Negotiation recommend? They recommend three strategies.  These are to put a formal system in place, promote better feedback, and focus on the problem and not the people. As an experienced manager with over 25 years of experience I want to look at these three areas and offer you some ideas that may help you beyond this article.

May 12, 2023 Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Round Up

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution    

How does a mediator promote neutrality by being impartial

That was the essence of a question asked at the Minnesota State Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section presentation on April 11, 2023 with about 60 attendees on zoom. Mediation and conflict resolution as well as mediation and negotiation need to be concerned about perceptions and reality. The topic from the session was on White Supremacy, Racism, and Mediation with distinguished commentary from Sharon Press, Ellen Deason, and Isablee Gunning. I may not have captured everything correctly that I am presenting here, but these are major take aways from my perspective and some practical applications that I am going to test in the future.

May 5, 2023 Michael Gregory’s Weekly Leadership Round Up

Leadership, Collaboration, Conflict Resolution    

Assess your emotions at the bargaining table

Conflict, negotiations,  mediation, conflict resolution, and conflict management can all be  emotionally charged. The emotions can detract and cause the process to be sidetracked. It is important to understand the barriers that can derail the process. Frustration, anxiety, fear can be normal reactions when bargaining with others. You need to understand the forces within yourself, your relationship with others, and external forces that may be impacting you or the other party. This article looks at each.