Conflict Resolution at Work for Dummies®

Chapter 8. Negotiating Possible Solutions to a Conflict

In This Chapter

• Getting employees to open up

• Homing in on values

• Brainstorming to generate ideas

• Posing the right questions

• Overcoming common conflict obstacles

• Meeting confidentially

Negotiating any sort of resolution to conflict is tricky. It reminds me of the plate-spinning guy I used to watch on TV as a kid. Just when he thought he could move away from the first set of plates he had going and move down the line, he'd have to rush back and catch one of the first plates as it started to topple and threatened to fall.

The same can be true when you're helping employees through a mediated conversation. You may think that because they shared their perspectives about the impact of the problem a few times, you won't have to address the impact again. But not so fast! Get ready to twist, turn, and adapt to whatever your employees need to assess their unique situation while they shift into the negotiation phase of the meeting.

In this chapter, I give you the information you need to move your employees beyond a list of discussion topics onto collaboratively addressing the conflict and brainstorming possible solutions. (See Chapter 7 for information on starting a mediation meeting, getting employees to share their views, and building an effective agenda.) You also find tools to work through resistance so you can reposition your employees from a state of blaming one another to a problem solving mind-set, creatively enabling them to tackle future ...