Managing Conflict - Be a Coach, Not a Cop

Managing Conflict - Be a Coach, Not a Cop
Conflicts will occur even in professional environments, but
the conflict needs to be redirected from the perception of
customers. In most conflicts neither party is right or
wrong; different perceptions have collided to create
disagreement. By managing conflicts skillfully, you can
gain cooperation, improve performance, reduce stress, solve
problems quickly, enhance teamwork, foster creativity, and
increase staff morale.

To manage conflict effectively you must be a skilled
communicator; an open environment encourages employees to
talk about work issues. Ask questions and focus on problems
as perceived. It may be as simple as conflicts about desk
position, air temperature control, public address volume,
or choice of background music, if that is what you have.
Here are some points to consider:

- Acknowledge that a conflict exists. Find out what's
happening and be open about the problem. Inquire of both
employees together to avoid appearing to favor one or the
other. Honest and clear communications is important.

- Let them express their views. Feelings of anger and hurt
usually accompany conflict situations. Let these emotions
be expressed before any problem solving takes place. After
the initial venting, let quiet discussion prevail.

- Define the problem. What is the problem, and what are the
negative aspects on work and relationships? Is differing
personalities the issue? Sometimes age difference feeds the
conflict. Are there deeper underlying causes of conflict?

- Determine underlying needs. The goal is not to find who
is right or wrong, but to reach a solution everybody can
live with. Compromise is the rule, but sometimes you need
to go beyond that. Look first for needs rather than
solutions. Find out why each party is asking for their fix
to the problem.

- Find common areas of agreement. Agree on the problem, the
procedure to follow, and the worst fears. Some small
changes can be helpful at the outset to give experience of
some success.

- Find solutions to satisfy needs. Generate multiple
alternatives, and determine which actions will be taken.
Make sure both sides buy into actions. Silence indicates
reserve, meaning no agreement. Seek to obtain real
agreement from both sides. A veiled warning about
continuing conflict may dampen the fire before it leads to
serious actions.

- Determine follow-up you will take to monitor actions.
Schedule a follow-up meeting in two weeks to determine how
everybody is doing.

- What if conflict remains unresolved? Unresolved conflicts
can be a disruption in operations, and other avenues may
need to be explored. An outside facilitator may be able to
shed light on possible solutions. When conflict becomes a
performance issue, it may lead to coaching sessions,
performance appraisals, or disciplinary action.

Anger - Dealing with anger, especially when it is directed
to you, can be a challenge. Effective listening can help
defuse anger, but when it is directed to you, it is
difficult to respond definitively. Ask for staff backup to
help regulate the situation. An angry person needs to let
off steam that may have been building for some time. Show
that you are paying attention. The person needs to know
that someone is really listening to her point of view. In
addition, the person needs to feel that you empathize with
her and acknowledge that you understand the situation. Be
attentive and patient, and the party will become less angry
as she expresses herself. Be sincere as you honestly
validate the situation causing anger. Finally, be calm as
you hear sometimes inflammatory comments in the heat of the
moment.

Conflict resolution resources ' The Conflict Resolution
Center Int'l in Pittsburgh, PA is a non-profit organization
promoting non-violent approaches to conflict resolution.
They maintain an excellent library on line, and they offer
various publications for those interested in these issues.
Managing Conflict is the web page of Douglas Noll, attorney
and peacemaker. His thesis is that peacemaking is the best
route to follow. The Maxwell School of Citizenship and
Public Affairs at Syracuse University deals with academic
research into conflict management. Finally, CaseBreakers
specializes in internet based criminal records and
background checks.

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For more management and leadership articles, please visit
http://www.CrassCaptain.com . Find Christine-Casey-Cooper's
new book, entitled The Crass Captain's Guide to
Organizational Dysfunction, on Amazon soon.

Using the Internet to Grow Your Business Quickly

Using the Internet to Grow Your Business Quickly
With the worldwide reach of the Internet, what often gets
forgotten is growing locally. The politicians had it right
with that famous saying that "all politics is local." It
doesn't matter how they rank nationally; politicians need
their hometown votes to stay in office. That logic makes
sense for most businesses, too. Local clients and customers
tend to be the most loyal, because they know you personally.

Every year, new studies point to more consumers using the
Internet to search for businesses that offer a service or
product they need. More than ever, their focus is local,
right down to getting directions from Mapquest.com or using
a Google map to find their way to the most conveniently
located source.

To make your business stand out locally, include your
business name, location, zip code and hours in all Internet
directories. Key search words are important, but so is
letting consumers in your immediate vicinity know that you
are right next door.

To make it personal, get personal by inviting individuals
and organizations to meet with you. Go to individuals and
organizations within a 25-mile radius to meet with them. It
works.

6 Smart Ways to Think Local and Grow Your Business Fast

1. Get your business listed free. There are several
Internet search engines that provide opportunities to set
up free listing accounts. There may be a company 1,000
miles away or overseas that offers what you do, but listing
yourself as the closest local provider makes you the
convenient choice. Here are a few places to start in
setting up free accounts: Google Local at
www.google.com/local/add/login?hl=en_US, Yahoo Local at
http://listings.local.yahoo.com and YellowPages.com at
www.yellowpages.com/sp/contact/update.jsp.

2. Follow the 25-mile rule. Get out a local map and draw a
circle around a 25-mile radius from your front door. Target
local consumers and businesses within that 25-mile radius
that are your potential customers. Visit a local Chamber of
Commerce directory on line to hone your search. Spend an
afternoon driving your target area to discover small
businesses that might not be listed with local chambers.
Instead of spending huge sums on direct mail that might
bring you only a very limited return, invest in a targeted
direct mail campaign focusing on those 10 to 100 potential
customers within the 25-mile radius.

3. Host an event. Using the names and addresses of
potential customers inside your 25-mile radius, create an
invitation list to an event that will allow potential
customers to meet you personally. Offer a free gift or
service as an incentive. If you are a solo entrepreneur
with limited or no space (and limited funds), partner up
with another business or even a nonprofit organization to
co-host an event. Each partner should offer a free gift or
service to double up on the incentives to attend your
event. For ideas, visit the "events" listings in your local
newspaper and online. Circle those that are co-hosted by
similar and also dissimilar organizations for ideas.

4. Follow up. Send personalized thank-you notes to those
who attend your event, and include a flier describing your
services. Include a special offer of a personal invitation
or an opportunity to subscribe free to your newsletter that
will get their attention. Your personal touch tells your
future clients that you are willing to get personal to meet
their needs. For a smart guide to how to write business
thank-you letters, go to
www.ehow.com/how_1378_write-business-thank.html.

5. Get out there! Set aside one afternoon or morning each
week to meet with potential clients (and partners for
future events). Search your local newspaper or
www.craigslist.org for neighborhood meetings, and introduce
yourself. Offer to be a guest speaker, and choose a
general-interest topic that will sell yourself first, and
then your product or service.

6. Participate. Join a nonprofit group for a good cause,
and bring plenty of business cards with you. Write a letter
to the editor of a local newspaper, and include your
business title and business name. More than 90 percent of
all businesses are small businesses. Your perspective on
small businesses is important, because your perspective is
personal. For smart tips on writing letters to the editor
from the Humane Society of the United States, go to
www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/citizen_lobbyist_center/lobbyi
ng_101/tips_on_writing_letters_to_the_editor.html.

Because the Internet has brought untold convenience and
immediacy to our lives, growing locally by using the
Internet, so that our local, hometown resources can find us
is a great way to market yourself virtually.

----------------------------------------------------
Ruth Klein is an award-winning business owner, best-selling
author and marketing and time management consultant whose
clients range from solo entrepreneurs to the Fortune 500.
Sign up to receive Ruth's 7 Part Mini-Course on Branding
and Productivity. http://tinyurl.com/25tqo5

How to Facilitate a Strategy Workshop

How to Facilitate a Strategy Workshop
A key skill for any business consultant working with a top
team is the ability to help them clarify and define their
strategy. This strategy will then inform decisions about
what to focus on, how to organize work, where to prioritise
spending.

1. Opportunities, Threats and Risks

As a starting point, focus on the external factors facing
the business or part of the business you are working with '
that is, what are the opportunities, threats and risks to
the business. An example might be a change in mortgage
lending which presents an opportunity for your business as
a property developer. Or it could be a major home builder
moving into your geography which directly threatens your
business. This should be done as a brainstorm exercise to
generate as much contribution and engagement as possible.

After this, prioritise each issue using a 2 x 2 matrix with
"What is potential likelihood" on the vertical axis (low to
high) and "How relevant is it?" (low to high) on the
horizontal axis.

Once the highly relevant issues which have a high potential
of occurring (that is, the top right hand corner of the
matrix) have been prioritized by the group, discuss each in
terms of:
What is it?
How relevant is it? Why is it relevant?
What is the potential likelihood?

2. Strengths, Weaknesses and Gaps

Now move to the internal factors impacting the business.
Brainstorm the significant internal factors facing the
business or part of the business. An internal strength
might be the technical skills of your team or your well
established sales processes.

Next, prioritise each factor again using a 2 x 2 matrix
with the "How strong or weak" (low to high) on the vertical
axis and "How important is it?" (low to high) on the
horizontal axis.

Once the important, 'strong' factors have been identified
discuss each in terms of:
What is it?
Why is it relevant?
What is its' potential impact?

The first two steps are very like a SWOT analysis except
that each factor is prioritized and each of the top
priority factors discussed. This discussion enables the
team to share their concerns and expectations for the
future, something which gets missed if you merely
brainstorm.

3. Critical Success Factors

After the prioritized SWOT focus on the critical success
factors, that is, what must we as a business get right over
the next 2 to 3 years to be successful. At this stage, to
ensure that the focus is still a strategic one, it is
important to address the external threats and opportunities
(that is, step 1) when thinking about the CSFs.

After brainstorming, discuss each CSF ' why people see it
as important and the implications to the business of each.
After the discussion undertake some prioritization exercise
such as nominal group technique (NGT). NGT usually
consists of allocating 3 votes to each individual and they
are free to allocate those votes as they see fit. They can
allocate 3 to one factor or distribute one vote for to each
of three factors.

4. Values

A critical component of a strategy workshop must also
address 'how' people will work together, not just what they
will work on. Where the CSF's are aligned to the external
factors, the Values tend to be aligned to the internal
factors (no. 2). These values are what will unite a group
and keep them intact during difficult or stressful times.

To do this, brainstorm the following question: "in your
opinion, what must we value (believe in) as a business to
achieve this success?"

Discuss each value:
What does this mean?
Why is it important?
What does it look like? ' how would you role model this to
others

Agree and prioritise the top half dozen or so values using
a prioritization technique such as NGT.

Ask the group, how do these values match current values?
What do we need to do differently to achieve these values?

5. Key Organisation Design Criteria

As part of a strategy workshop it is important to think
through how resources should be organized to exploit
opportunities, fight off threats from competitors and make
best use of our strengths. Although designing an
organization usually requires technical expertise in job
design, the responsibility for defining what type of
organization we want to create and work within belongs with
the top team.

Brainstorm the following question: "in your opinion, what
are critical organization design issues re structure,
processes, roles, performance management, reporting etc?"

At this stage it is important to think about the ideal
future organization and not the existing organisation.
Think about the major work processes and how this work
should be organized ' eg if we need to be more customer
focused should we organize our teams around our major
customers and their concerns.

Discuss each criterion:
Why?
Implications?

Prioritise as necessary, finding the show stoppers or key
enablers.

6. Key Strategic Drivers

As a summary, ask the following question: "What are the 2
to 4 key strategic drivers for the organization over the
next 2 to 3 years?"

This is best done in silence as it gives individuals a
chance to reflect over what has been before ' the SWOT, the
CSFs, the Values, the Organisation Design criteria.

List everyone's first driver, then discuss implications
List everyone's second driver, then discuss.

Generate a summary statement: shared view of objectives
(goals) over next 2 to 3 years by the individual or as a
group.

----------------------------------------------------
Pam Kennett is Founder and Director of Chiswick Consulting
Limited a management consultancy which provides advice and
direction to clients in marketing and human resources. For
more information on top team and strategy workshops contact
her at pam@chiswickconsulting.com or visit
http://www.chiswickconsulting.com .

Women in Corporate America - Have we made progress?

Women in Corporate America - Have we made progress?
March is National Women's Month. Unfortunately, when you
look at the overall statistics, things are not improving.
In the last large-scale census done by Catalyst, most
numbers either went down (such as the % of women corporate
officers) or held stagnant (% of women on board of
directors). This is not good! However, if I look at it on
a smaller scale and see all the amazing women clients that
I have worked with, I see a lot of progress and success. I
choose to look at the positive and hopefully the micro will
become the macro. Some of my own stats...The graduates of
the first 9 month Professional Women's Dream Team class (a
leadership development class for women) set goals at the
beginning of those 9 months—95% of them achieved their
goals. Of those who wanted to get promoted, 100% did!

Individual success stories from my female clients include
the following:

One client was feeling very stagnant in her current role
and wanted to play a bigger role in her organization. We
developed a plan in her coaching session as to how she
could get a promotion. Our coaching included role-playing
talking about her accomplishments and coming up with a
strategy as to whom she needed to network with to let them
know her achievements. It also included helping her gain
the confidence to go for jobs she would not have formerly
pursued. She ended up getting a double-promotion and loves
what she is doing!

In doing a networking assessment, one woman realized that
while she was a good networker, she needed to follow more
of the networking tips. She did and attributes much of her
promotion to that.

Another woman was very skilled at what she was doing, but
was not able to get senior management's approval for her
promotion. Through our coaching, she realized how she was
projecting herself to others. The way she communicated,
both in what she said and in how she carried herself
signified a lack of confidence, and therefore a lack of
credibility to senior management. She became aware of
those things, learned to correct them, and gained the
credibility she deserved...and got the promotion!

Finally, one client had been told by her manager that she
was doing all the right things in her job, but some people
in the organization didn't have the confidence in her that
was needed for her to be promoted. During our coaching
sessions, we set a strategy which included gathering more
specific feedback, figuring out the "WIIFM" (what's in it
for me) for those individuals and how she could prove to
those individuals that she had it in her to be promoted.
After implementing her strategy...she got promoted!

When you are looking at women's progress in Corporate
America, it's easy to get discouraged...however; I look at
the individual successes and choose to be optimistic. Here
are some other things you can do...whether you are a woman
or a man:

1. Acknowledge and highlight the successes of the women in
your organization.

2. Reach out and find a woman to mentor.

3. Understand some of the obstacles that hold women back
(for example, not networking enough, communicating in a way
that decreases their credibility, lacking the confidence to
try for promotions, etc.)

Hopefully, the next statistics will be more positive! With
the women I've met continuing to succeed in the workplace,
they will be!

----------------------------------------------------
Kerrie Halmi of Halmi Performance Consulting specializes in
increasing women's success in business through speaking,
coaching and facilitation. Kerrie has over fifteen years
of experience in the Human Resources field with such
clients as eBay, Wells Fargo and Kaiser. She received her
MBA from the University of Michigan and is certified in
coaching with Corporate Coach University International. See
http://www.halmiperformance.com

Top 3 Qualities Employers Are Looking for In Temporary Workers

Top 3 Qualities Employers Are Looking for In Temporary Workers
Whether you are in between jobs or just looking for some
temporary work to pay some of the bills, there are certain
skills you need to have in order to land a worthwhile
temporary position. Herewith are the three top qualities
employers are looking for in temps:

1) Great computer skills

Temps are often called upon to use basic computer programs
such as Microsoft Word and Excel to create word processing
documents and spreadsheets. Depending on the company or
industry, they may also be asked to create PowerPoint
presentations. Knowing how to use various computer programs
will enable you to add value to your company by creating
presentations, databases, mailing lists, and so on.
Therefore, you would do well to cultivate these software
skills and list them prominently on your resume. You should
also be comfortable with internet search engines and email
programs.

2) Good writing skills

A temp worker may be thrown into any number of tasks, from
writing web copy to proofreading a manuscript to creating a
brochure to desktop-publishing an office memo. As such, it
is essential for you to be able to do any of the above with
equal facility. Great writing skills really help in just
about every project, making you a versatile and desirable
candidate for a temp position. Cultivate your writing
ability through practice and lots of reading

3) Strong phone skills

Temps are often in charge of answering phones and directing
calls, and therefore you must be ready to deal with
customers and clients over the phone. A charming phone
manner is a winning quality; you can display yours to
potential employees in your own phone conversations with
them. Speak clearly, enunciate, be direct and remember
always to be unfailingly polite. Take accurate notes and be
sure to write down phone messages diligently. Employ your
best customer-is-always-right attitude so that the callers
come away from their interactions with you with a positive
experience.

In general, flexibility and a good attitude are key
components of a successful temporary employment
application. Demonstrate to the employer that you're ready
to pitch in whenever and wherever your help is needed, and
you will be likely to land a good temp job quickly! It's
also important to maintain a positive attitude even in the
face of disappointment - who can't have a positive attitude
when everything is going well and moving smoothly? And
always remember the six P's. Proper, Preparation,
Prevents, Particularly, Poor, Performance.

----------------------------------------------------
Ken Anczerewicz is an author and publisher devoted to
providing time & money saving resources designed to help
students of all ages achieve their financial goals. Learn
how to create your own income stream by clicking here now:
http://www.resourceriver.com