Conflict is an inevitable part of life. No matter how hard you try, it can seem that there will always be something that causes you or someone around you to be frustrated, angry, and impatient – or a whole host of other not-so-pleasant emotions.

Conflict arises when the people we work with have different ideas, perspectives, backgrounds, values, goals or expectations. Yes, conflict can be destructive! It diverts energy from more im­portant ac­tivities and issues; it po­larizes people and re­duces co­op­eration, and it can produce irresponsi­ble be­havior. And conflict can be construc­tive! It opens up and improves commu­nication; it strength­ens working relationships and team­work, and it leads to better quality decisions and prob­lem so­lutions. The ability to handle conflict and difficult situations is a great leadership skill. When you are confident in your people management skills, you don’t have to be afraid of disagreement. You don’t have to back away from problems. Instead, you can confidently face the confrontation and bring the issue out into the open. Well-managed conflict actually stimulates, ideas, sparks creativity and encourages personal improvement. Conflict by itself is nei­ther good nor bad. It’s the way YOU handle conflict that produces con­structive or destructive results.

Time is Money. There are a variety of direct costs to the organization associated with poorly managed conflict, including, in the worst cases, the loss of customers and good employees. One that is visible to everyone is the time taken to successfully resolve issues. The time that would be better spent on accomplishing work and achieving goals is instead used to manage disagreements, smooth ruffled feathers, and deal with difficult people. When CPP Inc commissioned a study on workplace conflict, they found that an overwhelming majority (85%) of employees at all levels experience conflict to some degree. Furthermore, they found on average, each employee spends 2.1 hours every week – approximately one day a month – dealing with conflict in some way (being involved in a disagreement, managing a conflict between co-workers, etc.)

For the US alone, that translates to 385 million working days spent every year as a result of workplace conflict. It is also a major drain on the resources of HR departments: half of the HR workers questioned (51%) spend between one and five hours week managing disagreements. The crucial issue is not whether conflict, disagreement and difficult people can be avoided; the real concern is how they can be dealt with that will lead to positive outcomes. If managed improperly, businesses’ productivity, operational effectiveness, and morale take a major hit. On the other hand, when channeled through the right tools and expertise, conflict can lead to a better understanding of others, improved solutions to problems, and major innovation.

Learning Objectives

The focus of this webinar is how to deal with the inevitable conflicts, difficult people, and situations that occur in the workplace so that it leads to positive outcomes both for the people involved and the organization. These seven points will be covered:

CEO’s, COO’s, VP of Human Resources, Chief Learning Officer, Directors, Project Managers, Operation Managers and Supervisors, Team Leaders, Staff Managers, and Supervisors.