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Clearview® Performance Systems brings you ... ... a Culture of Results & Engagement™

Managerial TIPS*

Proven High Value Activities (HVAs)

[ *Techniques/Insights/Practical Solutions ]

Here's the next in our series of weekly managerial TIPS (Techniques, Insights, and Practical Solutions)
to help you better engage your team in the activities that lead to higher performance.

CORE Bites Issue #47

The #1 Coolest Way to Address Interpersonal Conflict

During an Education-Business partnership event, I had an opportunity to tour a high school using Project Based Learning (PBL) as its core teaching methodology. One of the teachers we met explained that in PBL the expectation is that students will collaborate and apply content to solve real-world, authentic problems. Because the emphasis is on collaboration, teachers in this school spend a significant amount of time teaching students how to work better together as a team.

While the tour was fascinating in and of itself, the most valuable take-away for me occurred when we were introduced to the school's "24-Hour Check-In Rule." This rule—agreed to by all students—simply states that if another person says or does something that rubs you the wrong way, you are obligated to either:

  • a) address it within one day (hence "24 hours") ... or
  • b) let it go. (And when they say "let it go" they mean fully and without harboring a grudge.)

In essence, the person who feels wronged in some way owns the responsibility to deal with it in a mature, responsible way or he/she relinquishes any rights to letting the situation interfere with the team dynamic. Wow! What incredible learning for these young adults.

If you've had experience building teams, you know that trust is one of the principal components necessary for a team to produce extraordinary outcomes. Once trust is established, teams have a solid entry point for addressing issues and conflict as they come up—as they inevitably do. However, if a team is conflict-averse; if a team doesn't have a code of conduct—a "24-Hour Check-In Rule"—the fear of conflict will eventually breed animosity or, worse, contempt, and lead to a disconnect between group members.

High Value Activity (HVA) Action Steps

The HVA listed below will help your team deal proactively with conflict before it festers into relational gridlock:

  • Introduce the "24-Hour Check-In Rule" to Your Team: Proactive Team Leaders understand that every successful team has its own form of group contract or code of conduct—including how conflicts will be addressed. While there are a variety of approaches to this delicate topic, the "24-Hour Check-In Rule" described earlier is a powerful way to create a team culture based on trust and responsibility. It takes on the fear of conflict directly ... and encourages open, clear communication. If you're concerned that some team members will feel this is a rule only for children, remind them that proactively dealing with conflict is what mature and responsible adults do, and that taking ownership in this manner will lead to more meaningful and productive conversations—and a stronger team. (How can they argue with that logic?)

I'd love to hear how this HVA works for you!

Neil Dempster, PhD, MBA
RESULTant™ and Behavioral Engineer

Quote of the Week

"Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on."

— Criss Jami —

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