There may be times that an open conflict will occur in a meeting that you are facilitating.
There is nothing wrong with conflict in and of itself. Conflict is simply a difference in perspective or opinion,. It can enrich a conversation and lead to creative solutions.
The difficulty occurs when someone feels personally attacked or disrespected. An anonymous author once said that: “10% of conflicts are due to a difference in opinion. 90% are due to the wrong tone of voice.” That 90% will get you every time!
For example:
Personnel Audit Responsibility
I was given the responsibility for auditing the personnel offices of all state agencies. The purpose was to determine their compliance with state statutes and approved personnel policies and procedures.
There were two stumbling blocks. First, the state agency personnel offices differed greatly in terms of staffing and functions performed.
Second, there was no requirement that the agencies cooperate with the audits or comply with the findings and recommendations.
A Task Force
To gain their support and find an equitable solution, I created a task force. This included representatives from the state personnel department and agencies of different sizes. The charge was to identify what the audit standards should be.
Everyone thought I was off my rocker. They claimed there was no way that we would be able to come up with standards that were relevant and fair to all concerned.
I went ahead with the task force anyway. The agenda involved identifying the primary focus for the audits and determining the best way to identify the audit standards.
Elder Statesmen in Open Conflict
Early during the first meeting, two elder statesmen began sniping at each other. Unfortunately, they represented the two entities most critical to the task force’s success.
One represented the state personnel department that created and administered the personnel policies and procedures. The other represented the university, which had the largest personnel office and had “suffered” under many of those policies for years.
They got angrier and their argument grew louder. It was a very open conflict. I had no choice, I needed to intervene.
Hoping the men would calm down, I immediately called a break. My desire was that they would be able to have a more professional interaction when we reconvened. As the major players, it was essential that the entities they represented participate and cooperate. Unless I could help them focus on their similarities instead of their differences, the task force would be dead in the water.
Refer to Established Operating Guidelines
When we returned to the meeting, I reminded the task force members of the operating guidelines that they had established at the beginning of the meeting. These guidelines included having a constructive dialogue and treating each other with respect.
I pointed out that we had not convened to try to resolve historical conflicts between the state personnel department and individual agencies. Instead, we needed to focus on our charge: to establish fair and equitable personnel management audit standards.
Identify Mutual Objectives
I asked the task force members to identify the key objectives of any personnel office, regardless of its size. All the members quickly proposed the same objectives: to
- recruit,
- retain,
- develop,
- compensate, and
- reward a high performing and diverse workforce that would achieve the mission, vision, and goals of the agency.
Form Subcommittees
They agreed that the audit should only review personnel policies and procedures that had a direct impact on the achievement of those objectives. They decided to form two subcommittees to propose the audit standards. One subcommittee would look at classification and compensation. The other would focus on recruitment and selection. We were able to accomplish the agenda for that meeting.
Resolve Conflict ASAP
It can be very uncomfortable during a meeting when participants start to take potshots at each other. If you are the meeting facilitator, you will want to calm emotions and resolve or table the conflict as quickly as possible. You do not want the other meeting participants to start to take sides with the combatants. Taking a break is a wise choice.
Refer to Meeting Guidelines
When you reconvene, it helps to be able to refer to mutually established meeting guidelines that outline how differences of opinion will be handled and how decisions will be made.
Focus on an Agenda
It also helps to be able to focus the conversation on an agenda. This should clearly identify the overall objective and the specific decisions that need to be made during the meeting. It makes a powerful difference to the mood of a meeting when the meeting participants realize they have mutual interests and goals. This naturally motivates them to cooperate and collaborate with each other.
Think back to a conflict that occurred during a meeting you either facilitated or participated in. Would taking these conflict abatement actions have made a positive difference?
If you would benefit from learning how to handle conflict when you facilitate a meeting, please book a call to discuss a Group Facilitation training program. https://laurelandassociates.com/contact/
May your learning be safe and sweet.
Deborah
#managingconflictinmeetings #meetingmanagement
