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War of the Words and How to Win It
Diffuse verbal conflict
Rochelle Devereaux
Busienss Efficacy
PO Box 4081
Salem, OR 97302-1081
www.businessmasters.com
rochelle@businessmasters.com
503 581-4100
503 581-8705 (fax)
800 489-4109 (outside Salem calling area)
"To unify people's ears and eyes means
to make people look and listen in concert
so that they do not become confused and disorderly."
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Words and their use determine an organization's attitude. The company's approach to people
and their communication styles, either positive or negative, establishes the norm and the
overall environment. A positive outlook encourages cooperation, respect and understanding
between people and groups. A negative environment occurs when people's styles clash and
there is conflict between people and departments.
Picture your last staff meeting. Mentally observe the people sitting around the
conference table. How many were concentrating on the speaker? How many were
reading their notes? How many were doodling or otherwise thinking about something
other than the matter at hand?
Think about the last time there was an interdepartmental meeting. Was there a spirit of
"everyone is in this together" or did signs of territory protection arise?
Consider how individuals in the organization interact. Do they demonstrate an interest
in and respect for each other, or do they resist dealing with people who act or speak or
act differently than they do?
In short, is your organization at war or peace with itself? If it is at war, why would you want
to act as the peace negotiator? Here are some reasons:
- You complete projects quickly because everyone is working toward a common goal.
- You and your co-workers achieve a high level of personal satisfaction.
- Positive achievements build on themselves, negative wins must be constantly defended
from future attacks so you save time and energy.
- The workplace is more attractive so there is less stress every time you walk through
the door.
If your department or organization is at war how do you reach a peace accord? Consider
some of the following steps:
- Observe the group as a whole to determine the source of gossip or rumor
- Evaluate how negative communication is currently being rewarded
- Find an area of easy agreement between people or groups
- Encourage a truce or peace agreement on that subject with that group
- Reward the positive outcomes of the agreement
- Eliminate or severely reduce the negative communication reward system
- After the new behavior is established, find the next area for agreement
- Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6
- Continue the process until a totally new behavior pattern is established
Change from war to peace is not easy. It requires a total commitment and willingness to alter
behavior patterns at every organizational level. It can be done. The rewards are significant in
terms of morale, productivity and personal satisfaction.
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