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The Truth About Internal Strife posted on Tuesday, 13 May 2008

Disagreements, misunderstandings, personality conflicts, none of these are new to the business community. As long as human beings work in, and manage, businesses there will be internal strife.When these differences are the exception, rather than the company’s culture, disputes are short lived and cause minimal damage. However, when strife is allowed to fester, or worst, to become accepted as a part of the company’s DNA, it can be detrimental to the long term health and stability of the organization.

Internal strife takes on many different forms in a corporate environment. Conflicts can be veiled with biting sarcasm, harsh words, tense meetings or even infantile bickering. Yet, its senior management’s approach to conflict that dictates the long term effect it has on the business. For example, if an organization adopts a company wide no tolerance policy towards internal discord, the staff is more likely to work through problems rather than jeopardize their jobs by allowing the conflict to fester.

Or, if managers confront the confrontation as soon as they observe serious conflict, they can help the individuals work through their problem to find resolution. Oftentimes people want to be heard, so if management offers an opportunity for open discussion in front of an unbiased person it can facilitate the finding of common ground.

The truth is internal strife is very common in the workplace; yet it does not have to be divisive. Conflict does not go away just because it is ignored. In fact, it is more probable that unresolved conflict will escalate when ignored. Good managers recognize the disruptive repercussions of unresolved conflict and they won’t allow it to disturb the workplace simply because they want to avoid troublesome personnel issues. These managers put their personal discomfort aside to provide strong leadership to their department and/or the organization.

Joyce Harper
President/CEO
Sharper Solutions, LLC
www.sharpersol.com

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