If you’ve ever had a coworker who drove you crazy or someone in your office who was always trying to sabotage your projects, you’re probably not surprised that they made their way into an article about personality conflicts at work. You see, different personalities see things and react to situations differently, and as a result, some people just can’t get along with one another. But if you’ve never experienced anything like that before, chances are good that this is the first time you’ve heard of such an occurrence. And if it is the latter case then good news – here are some insights from other businesses on how to handle personality conflicts so that they don’t destroy your team and company morale.
The importance of company culture
When you open a business, you bring with you an intangible – your culture. Your company culture is the way that you do business – and it’s essential to your organization’s success. The company culture you have reflects the personality of your team members and others in the organization. When someone doesn’t fit in with your culture, you may be forced to confront feelings of resentment and frustration. This can hurt your productivity. Company culture can be hard to define or even identify because it’s something that you don’t just create; it’s something that develops over time as the result of the people who work inside your company. So how can you identify what your culture is? Start by identifying what your culture is not. What are some major differences between how your company operates compared to how other organizations operate?
Understand why conflict happens in the first place
Conflict happens, but it’s up to you as the manager and leader to ensure that everyone understands why conflict happens. There are many reasons why people might get into conflict, and some of them are unavoidable. For example, people may be different in different ways, and that means that sometimes they’re going to have different opinions or have different ways of dealing with a task or project. But when you don’t understand someone’s personality, you don’t know how they may react and deal with things. People don’t like confrontation, and if you can explain yourself and your decisions, you can minimize the chance of conflict.
Don’t assume everyone is going to get along
Believe it or not, people can get along even if they don’t like each other. There are many instances in which two people who don’t like each other are expected to work together because of a common goal. While it may sound difficult, the best way to handle team conflicts is to not assume that everyone is going to get along. What you should do instead is to create a team culture that respects everyone’s differences and encourages people to be themselves, but not be offensive towards others.
Set clear expectations for how you want to be communicated with
When it comes to handling personality conflicts, setting clear expectations for how you want to be communicated with is essential. Let your team members know that you prefer to be approached directly when you have a disagreement or problem that you need help with. And let them know that if they want to talk to you, they need to do it in a respectful way that doesn’t involve name-calling. By doing this, you can set expectations and help your team members understand how they need to communicate with you. And when it comes to handling personality conflicts, being clear about how you want to be communicated with can help significantly.
Be open about how your personality conflicts work for you and your team
While you want to be clear on how you want to be communicated with, you don’t want to be so closed-off that your team members feel uncomfortable or like they don’t have a voice. If your team members are afraid to talk to you about a problem or feel like they don’t have a voice because they don’t have any communication with you, then the team isn’t functioning properly. A good way to minimize the chance of your team feeling like they don’t have a voice is to be open about how your personality conflicts work for you and your team members.
Conclusion
When it comes to handling personality conflicts, it can be helpful to remember that people are different and that it’s OK if some people don’t get along with others. And when this happens, you can work to minimize the chance of conflict happening. There are a few things that you can do to make sure that your personality conflicts don’t get out of control, including setting clear expectations for how you want to be communicated with, being open about how your personality conflicts work for you and your team members, and minimizing the chance of your team feeling like they don’t have a voice.
© Virtual HR Services for Small Businesses LLC