The Ultimate Guide to Mindfully Managing Workplace Conflict
There are just some things that come with being a human — aside from the whole death and taxes thing. We’re made to connect with others but sometimes those connections break down. We don't always get along, even with people we really like. This can be especially true at work. Think about it: if you drop any group of people in the same space, under stress, for 8 hours a day, they’ll find things to disagree about. There will be hurt feelings and upsets. Workplace conflict is inevitable. Because we’re human.
Unfortunately, excess conflict at work can be a source of undue stress in our lives. And remember, stress is already wreaking enough havoc on our health as it is, so we don’t need more of it.
When conflict arises, we need a way to manage it — to get through it in a way that preserves trust and relationships so that we can continue to work together going forward. One team, one dream.
The key to mindfully resolving workplace conflicts is to keep the issue, the issue, and not let it build into something greater. Thankfully, a multitude of mindfulness tools exists to help us prevent things from heading too far south and to bring us back when they do.
Who This Guide is For
This guide is for leaders. And not just those with a fancy title or direct reports. The world needs leaders who are in management positions and also leaders who aren't.
If you take responsibility for making your workplace better, no matter your job title, you’ll find tremendous value in what follows. If you understand that the most successful leaders start with themselves, the tools here will serve you well.
If you wait for permission before making positive change, this probably isn’t for you.
The choice we all have to act mindfully in the face of conflict is the choice to act as a leader. It’s something we live out through our actions. At any moment, we can lead by example, create a vision and inspire others to follow.
Whether you’re a manager considering how to use these tools with your team or working your way toward a leadership role, remember that becoming a mindful leader is your choice.
If that’s your choice, read on.
Top Sources of Workplace Conflict
To be blunt, the source of all workplace conflict is us. We’re humans and we’re all different, so inevitably we’re going to rub against one another. That said, most conflicts can be arranged into a handful of categories. You’ll notice that in many cases, these factors end up working together, contributing in different ways. The biggest lesson, I believe, is for us to understand the complexity of human interaction as we approach managing conflict.
Disagreements
Sometimes conflict is simply about differing opinions. At the onset of this type of conflict, it’s nothing personal (though it can quickly get personal). Some examples:
You prefer one option and I prefer another. I think the break room should be painted purple and you think it should be wallpaper. Obviously, I’m right.
We don’t see eye to eye on how a situation was handled. We share a client and I disclosed something to them in a meeting you thought was inappropriate.
One of us is just having a bad day and are quick to disagree with everyone else. (It happens.) It’ll quickly resolve if we don’t make it larger than it is.
When these types of conflicts are handled quickly and without other issues creeping in, they don’t affect relationships.
Even more, differing opinions are often a good thing. Sparks of tension between partners or team members can lead to the most creative breakthroughs because each person brings something new to the table. It’s when differences in opinions turn personal that relationships can be harmed.
Scarcity and Limited Resources
I use the phrase "one team, one dream" with a purpose. At work, we can forget that we’re a team all working toward one goal.
This can be a particularly significant issue when there aren’t enough resources to go around or people feel like they’re working more than their fair share. Often, it doesn’t even matter whether scarcity of resources is a problem the company is actually facing. If employees believe it to be true, they act as if it is.
Our brains actually change when we’re faced with scarcity (perceived or real). Our thoughts become focused on doing what we can do to stay alive and we lose the ability to see the bigger picture. This can result in acting with extreme self-interest, ignoring the long-term effects of our actions on other and on ourselves.
Conflict due to limited resources can take the form of bickering about teammates behind their backs, keeping vital information about a project to yourself as a way to gain power, or even hoarding office supplies.
Process and Structure
As employees, our work lives are often heavily impacted by the structures our company has put into place — org. chart, managers, work hours, office layout, technology and equipment.
If we think a team member is in the wrong role, especially if it’s a role we want to be in, our opinion can cloud any interaction with them. Or perhaps we feel constrained by the number of managerial layers in our organization that stop every new idea in its tracks. Or maybe our computers need to be replaced but another department is next in line to receive an upgrade.
Any of these scenarios can cause us to perform poorly in our jobs, lead to stress in our lives and ultimately contribute to conflict with others.
The processes that organizations create can also have a tremendous impact on our day-to-day lives. Without sounding too dramatic, I believe that businesses live and die by their processes — from internal HR process to methods for handling projects and quality control checklists, because they dictate how employees are spending their time. (How we do anything is how we do everything.)
If a process is too strict — formal business attire required — we can feel stifled. If a process is too loose — no formal employee review process — we don’t know what to do and can feel like we’re journeying without a map.
We all know how frustrating it is to encounter a problem that’s already been solved by someone who didn’t document their process, forcing us to make our way through on our own. Perhaps hours could have been saved if someone had just made a simple checklist!
Conflicting Priorities
As companies grow, it can be difficult to keep separate units working in harmony. The broader company vision is often lost as silos emerge and teams concentrate on their own priorities.
I’ve seen this age-old problem played out firsthand in my agency days. Clients who oversaw the sales or marketing department of their company were often at odds with their counterpart in charge of the product. Each department blamed the other for any dip in their team’s results.
“The sales team keeps over-promising results to new clients. There is no way we can deliver what these customers expect.”
“The product team needs to step up and perform for our clients. They have no idea how hard we worked for those sales.”
And on and on...
Remember, these two teams could instead be working as best friends! One cannot have success without the other. Salespeople need to trust that they’re selling a quality product and the product team needs to know customers are set up for success when they sign on. But if they’re unable to see things from the other team’s perspective, the conflict will only get worse.
Priority conflicts aren’t only relegated to large organizations or separate teams. At a former employer, we’d set priorities for our developers early in the day and the company president would often sneak in behind and tell them to work on his projects first. Then at the end of the day, we’d all be wondering why none of our work got done. Not only were our priorities out of alignment, but the actions of our leader undermined the rest of the team. So much for one team, one dream.
Miscommunication or Poor Communication
How many communication apps or tools does your organization use to keep people up to speed? How many meetings are scheduled as check-ins or updates? How successfully are any of those things working?
My guess is that they’re not working so well. Just Google “too many meetings” and you’ll see why. The trouble is, all the tools and meetings in the world don’t help teammates communicate if they’re not willing to be transparent or take the time to understand things from another person’s perspective.
A former employer had difficulties with new hires, notably because they lacked a formal onboarding and training program. People would walk in on their first day, be given a tour and email address, and then told to go do work. As you can imagine, this caused some friction, especially with junior-level hires who needed more direction to be successful. Unfortunately, leadership didn’t always step up and ended up rehiring some positions more than once.
Some questions to consider that might help identify if there is an issue with communication in your workplace:
How many simple disagreements are caused by someone just not telling another person what they’re working on or their expectations for a project?
How many performance issues aren’t addressed because a manager neglects to have a difficult conversation?
How many processes remain inefficient because people work around them but don’t tell anyone?
The list goes on.
It comes down to this: Humans were made to connect through communication, both verbal and nonverbal. It’s key to happiness at work and at home.
Dishonesty
I can’t relegate this conflict contributor to just poor communication. Dishonesty is its own creature and is even more nefarious than neglecting to share with others.
Trust is arguably the most critical component of both successful relationships and to employee engagement. Unfortunately, according to Interaction Associates, only 40 percent of people have a high level of trust in their managers.
We can only earn the trust of others through honest feedback and conversation.
In one of my early jobs, I was regularly told to lie to clients about our mistakes -- covering for promises made during the sales process we couldn’t deliver, or for the project being delivered late or of poor quality. Eventually, I lost trust in both my managers and the team around me, knowing how often I was asked to manipulate people I was hired to serve. It wasn’t long before I left for another company, and many of my teammates found new jobs shortly after.
The trouble with dishonesty is that it becomes ingrained in company culture, leading to further erosion of trust and more dishonest behavior. In the example above, I knew my manager was dishonest and ended up suspecting the same of my teammates. Had I stayed, I may have been tempted to play the game more and lie just to get ahead. Once dishonesty is embedded, it’s difficult to undo.
Poor Performance
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, right? Feeling that a coworker is not pulling their weight around the office can be a tremendous source of stress. After all, why should we work so hard if they’re just coasting?
Conflicts around poor performance often can be split into two categories: real and perceived.
It’s my opinion that poor performance, in most cases, is a secondary result of an underlying issue. Some examples to shed light:
An employee’s performance may suffer due to poor communication. Maybe he hasn’t been adequately trained or provided with expectations. He might hesitate to speak up because he senses his manager is already stretched too thin and doesn’t want to cause an issue. In this case, the performance will likely improve as soon as communication improves (on both sides).
A different employee’s performance might suffer because she’s in the wrong position. Maybe she was hired for a particular role and the needs of the position have changed. In this case, a structural change -- moving her from sales to customer support -- will get her back into a position of strength.
The performance of an entire team may suffer if the company’s larger priorities don’t align with the goals of their particular project. They might not be getting the resources, time or attention required to be successful. Conflicting priorities and resource scarcity are often contributors here.
Perceived performance issues are even more often caused by something else. If I don’t have good visibility into the work a teammate is doing on a large project, I might think they’re just wasting time. Increasing communication throughout the team will help me to better appreciate what others are contributing.
All that to say: “fixing” someone’s performance isn’t always as straightforward as it seems.
Change
Maybe the boss realizes a process or structure just isn’t working and decides to make a change. Most of the team loves it. But some people just don’t. They didn’t see anything wrong with the old way.
Suddenly, it’s Us vs. Them and I’m refusing to change. Why should I, after all, if I’m not the one with a problem? (See how this is also linked to poor communication? It all connects.)
We’ve now created an even larger problem with the team moving in different directions.
Change is such a powerful and expansive topic that I could (and likely will) create a separate guide on mindfully managing change. It’s also something that every one of us has lived through, so we all are aware of its ability to spur conflict. I’m sure any of us could come up with a handful of stories from our own history to that effect, so I don’t want to spend an excessive amount of time here. Still, a couple important points rise to the surface when considering change and conflict.
First, the nature of a particular change doesn’t have to be dramatic to cause conflict. Sometimes what seems like no big deal to members of a team is met with harsh resistance by others. In these cases, personality differences emerge, and underlying emotions can come to a head. Clear communication and trust become even more important.
Second, while change can be difficult, it’s also constant. Every industry is changing; competitors and customers are changing; small and large trends are changing. In fact, many things are changing with increasing speed. Learning how to embrace and work with it is our best hope for success in the future.
Interpersonal Relationships
Raise your hand if you’ve had a coworker you just didn’t like.
**Everyone raises hand.**
It’s just as inevitable as eventually having conflict with someone. We’re all different and some people just rub one another in the wrong way. Relationships in any environment come with unique challenges, and the pressures of work can feel like just one more thing added on. And unlike our friends, we don’t always get to choose our coworkers — thus we end up spending most of our day around people with personalities, value systems, and worldviews different from our own.
Conflicts related to interpersonal relationships aren’t always reserved for the people you dislike from the start. What might begin as a positive relationship can turn sour due to outside forces -- a friend getting a promotion you think you deserve.
Disagreements and tension at work can arise from conflict outside of work when people fail to separate the two environments. I once lived with a coworker (bad idea), which changed the dynamic of our relationship and affected us at work and at home. It didn’t take long for others in the office to notice the tension, either. Eventually, we stopped talking almost completely as the tension rose to such high levels. Working on projects together was not an enjoyable experience for either of us. Looking back, poor communication definitely contributed to our rift. Lesson learned.
Two coworkers dating can also become a cause for conflict or unease between others in the office. It often becomes worse if the relationship ends. Romantic relationships are even more dangerous when between bosses and their direct reports, and are prohibited in many workplaces. And let’s not mention “secret” relationships that seem to always blow up for everyone involved. Bad news all around.
Harassment
Sometimes conflict is more nefarious than simple human differences. Sometimes it crosses a line.
Whether it’s seemingly inconsequential rude comments or remarks (bullying) or as serious as sexual harassment, it’s a real problem and needs to be addressed in all cases. Unfortunately, and as we’ve seen come to light recently, workplace harassment is far too common today. The tools I offer in this guide can offer momentary help to those experiencing harassment, but they are not designed for use as a long-term solution.
No jokes or memes here. Let’s all do our part to end harassment in the workplace. If you’re being harassed or if you witness harassment, report it. Visit the EEOC website for more information.
External Factors
We all have lives outside of work (I hope). Those lives can impact how we bring ourselves to the workplace every day. Stress at home can affect our moods; lack of sleep affects our performance and how we treat others.
While these factors often cannot be controlled by a work leader, they are very real and can have a tremendous impact on a work environment. It’s also important that both manager and employee take them into account on a day-to-day basis to work to reduce their influence.
In fact, Gallup notes that employees are most engaged when their managers invest in them as a whole person, opening dialogue about both work and personal life. The key, they report, is that people feel safe to be open about any subject in their lives.
Consequences of Workplace Conflict
We’ve established that workplace conflict is inevitable. (Even for solopreneurs. I get into arguments with myself on a daily basis.) Its impact can be diverse and deeply felt throughout an organization, especially when it goes unchecked. What happens when conflict strikes?
Awesome Work from a Well-Rounded Team
Yes, conflict can be beneficial (you’re a little surprised I’d say this, aren’t you?). A workplace of yes-men or lemmings wouldn’t ever come up with a creative idea and would instead agree with everything their bosses say.
Examples of success despite (and sometimes because of) conflict can be found in some of the most iconic co-founder stories: Steve Jobs/Steve Wozniak and Bill Gates/Paul Allen. In each case, they learned to push each other to get the best product made.
I’ve had coworkers who seemed to have it out during creative brainstorming or planning meetings, and then went for beers together after work. While that type of relationship might turn off many people, it worked for them. They were able to compartmentalize differences (key to resolving conflict, as we’ll see) to only the things they disagreed about, respected each other for wanting to do the right thing, and afterward could remain close friends. I think that in many ways they knew the other helped them to see things they wouldn’t have seen otherwise. They were both good at their jobs and their unique perspectives added to the team’s ability to produce creative work.
It turns out that a little conflict might be the best way for learning to take place: AI researchers are even programming bots to learn through arguing amongst each other.
Individual differences can also be additive outside of a one-to-one relationship, and ultimately make a team more well-rounded. As an example, you and I might butt heads due to differing communication styles. You might be more direct than I like. However, your particular style might resonate well with a potential client, helping us to make an important sale. In this case, the difference led to success for the company.
This is also true for personality types. Many workplaces now use measurements like DiSC and Myers-Briggs to better understand the people they’re bringing on board. These tests can help us not only gain information about ourselves — how we see the world and how others see us — but also to understand how we can better be seen by others.
While I might be a details-oriented person, I’m able to tailor my approach for a coworker who relies much more on intuition if I know his natural style. These personality tools are helpful so that we can hire people NOT like us, rather than the opposite. A team of all analytical thinkers is going to have a much narrower worldview than one with a healthy balance of creativity and optimism to go with the skeptics.
In all of these cases, conflict is an additive feature. You can probably come up with many more examples (and not just in the workplace) of conflict leading to a more positive outcome. The trick is learning how to hire or manage a team (and yourself) toward positive conflict. Remember, it’s going to happen, so we can take aim at making it work for us.
Disengagement
Workplace disengagement is a scourge on business, and our lives in general, today. Arguably, it was the primary motivation for the launch of Golden Bristle. I fundamentally believe that engaged, passionate people will work toward causes that bring a positive impact to the world. Disengagement doesn’t just cost money in lost time, it costs us our happiness and the meaning we derive from work.
Unfortunately, disengagement is extremely widespread today. According to Gallup, upwards of 70% of workers are disengaged. They have higher rates of absenteeism, presenteeism (they show up but don’t do anything), higher healthcare costs and actively create a toxic work environment for everyone else. If two-thirds of our workers are actively rooting against our success, we don’t have a very good chance of succeeding.
Conflict turns out to be a major contributor to disengagement, for good reason.
Many employees’ natural response to a domineering boss is to stop trying. This is natural, after all. Our brains are designed to conserve energy (emotional, mental, etc.) to avoid depletion. When we’re continually shut down by others, no matter their place in the chain of command, we learn to avoid engagement. We stop giving ideas. We stop raising our hand. We keep our heads down and shut up.
When we stop contributing, we stop helping our company grow. Disengagement costs U.S. companies up to $600 billion annually, when all costs are considered.
Turnover
A disengaged employee is only a half-step away from becoming a former employee. Once we feel like our contribution isn’t recognized or appreciated, we’re much more likely to consider taking our talents elsewhere. This, too, is a normal response. We’re driven to find a sense of purpose and fulfill it in our work. That’s why I challenge all of my clients to define their Why and measure whether their employer aligns with it.
High turnover can be a business killer. The Center for American Progress estimates that the cost of replacing an employee can range from 16 percent of annual salary for low-wage jobs to 213 percent of annual salary for executive positions. SHRM pegs estimates at 50-75 percent of annual salary. No matter what, it’s expensive — in dollars, time and speed. You’re losing not only production while the position is empty, but time for training, and institutional knowledge post-hire.
While employee turnover is a reality for all businesses (some employers even say they want their employees to grow enough to leave and do something on their own), turnover due to conflict is almost entirely preventable and should be mitigated whenever possible. A high turnover rate is almost guaranteed to indicate a high rate of disengagement, which means costs overflowing on all sides.
Stress
When I tell people I offer mindfulness services to businesses, by far the most common response I get is related to stress. It’s an all-too-common occurrence in our lives today. In fact, about 44 percent of people say persistent stress and excessive anxiety are a normal part of their day (and that number is growing every year). Stress is the number one cause of long-term sickness globally, and work is the number one source of stress in America, according to the APA.
People report stress causing a negative impact on their workplace performance, on their relationships with peers and superiors, and on their personal life -- particularly relationships with loved ones.
The costs of stress? Upwards of $300 billion annually through absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover and direct medical, legal and insurance fees.
Work relationships are commonly cited as one as a top-three cause of workplace stress. That isn't the bronze medal you want to receive.
Health
It’s not enough that conflict can create a bad day or impact our desire to go to work. When stress becomes an everyday occurrence, it can have negative effects on our behaviors and overall health. People who report high stress at work say it affects their eating habits, sleep patterns, and weight. What’s worse, chronic stress is a destructive force on our bodies. The stress hormone Cortisol — while helpful in acute stress situations when the ‘fight or flight’ response is triggered — actually shrinks the learning and memory centers of our brains and increases our risk of cardiac disease. Make no mistake: Chronic stress is a killer.
And stress isn’t the only health concern for those in toxic work environments. Violence at work accounts for about 15 percent of all violent crimes in the US. You may never think this could affect you or your employees but why ever take the risk?
Errors
I heard a figure recently that blew my mind. Medical errors — measurable and preventable mistakes by healthcare professionals — cost more than $17 billion each year. I’ve also heard rumors about the high cost of code errors by developers at tech companies — something like $300 million each year for Google. You might ask me how those are related to employee conflict. My answer is this: If we know conflict is a tremendous source of stress and we know stress affects sleeping patterns and engagement, it’s only logical that those two will add up to employees not doing their jobs to their fullest potential. That includes making unnecessary errors. And workplaces that communicate effectively, both in terms of expectations and personal issues, will naturally produce fewer mistakes.
Humans aren’t machines but we are paid to do our jobs, and when we don’t, money is lost. Unfortunately, it isn’t only money that’s lost; mistakes can lead to injuries by workers (or in the case above, put patients at risk). Employee injuries due to high stress, inattention, poor process or other issues can carry with them high costs. At hospitals, injuries cost about $331,000 per year for every 100 employees. For airline companies, that number is more than $285,000. Big numbers all around.
At the end of the day, it comes down to this: Conflict is here to stay and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When it’s productively harnessed, it can improve a business and relationships. When conflict is dealt with poorly, however, the consequences can be costly.
How NOT to Deal with Conflict
Avoidance
We all know how easy it can be to just avoid something we don’t want to deal with. That nosy neighbor we check for before leaving our house. Tedious assignments with looming deadlines. And, of course, that coworker who just made an offensive statement.
The trouble is, despite how easy avoidance can be, it doesn’t help to remedy conflict. In fact, in many ways, it makes it worse. When we’re upset about something and hold it in, it’s in our nature to continue to return to it mentally, with increasing intensity, until it spills into our daily actions. Sometimes we turn to passive aggressive statements or actions toward the offender. Sometimes we turn the frustration inward and blame ourselves for whatever we’re feeling. Sometimes we just stop doing our work.
I already referenced the brief time I lived with a coworker but it’s especially relevant here. She and I had different habits and differing viewpoints that only became clear once we spent time together at home. Minor annoyances that were relatively easy to deal with at the onset felt much larger once other problems were exposed. And the more each of us let things go undiscussed, the harder it became to address any one of them. By the time we moved out, our relationship was strained so badly that we barely talked at home or at work. Others in our office could see the tension and it affected everyone. Avoidance was a major contributor.
Compliance
Nobody ever grew up wanting to be a yes-man. We all seek to make a positive contribution, which means that sometimes we need to challenge the world around us — our peers, our leaders, or societal norms. But when we find ourselves in toxic environments, work or otherwise, we can begin to feel that compliance is the only path to safety.
Aggressive bosses and bullies get their way because people around them allow it. A culture of fear is self-reinforcing and the conflict it creates never ceases.
If you find yourself choosing compliance, first ask yourself, “Why?” Why am I saying yes to this directive, agreeing to take on this work, participating in this environment that causes me stress? Then other questions may arise. Do I want to continue down this path? What is the cost — to me and to others? Is it worth it?
Bullying or Aggressiveness
In so many ways, we all know it’s wrong to bully others or push them around so we can get what we want. And yet, bullying is a common occurrence not only in our workplaces but in nearly every environment in our lives — from television to sports to politics. A study by the University of Phoenix found that 75% of people have witnessed bullying in the workplace and nearly half of people have been bullied first-hand.
I get it. It’s easy to assert our power over another person when we have it. It “gets the job done” and is usually effective in ensuring compliance. Fear is a powerful motivator. But it isn’t the most effective motivator if your goal is to create a workplace of engaged, dependable, passionate employees working toward a larger purpose. (That’s why we all go to work, right?) Fear will only get you so far. And we already know the high costs of stress on both our business and our health.
If you find yourself being aggressive to win an argument, remember the consequences. It’s just not worth it.
Overgeneralization
Sometimes we try so hard not to hurt another person’s feelings that our feedback becomes unhelpful. We tiptoe around issues with sweeping generalizations instead of addressing them head-on. This comes in phrases like, “Your presentation could use a little more pizzazz” instead of “Your introduction needs a specific story to hook me and the conclusion asked for the sale too early.”
The second sentence gives me information I can work with, while the first leaves me searching for whatever you mean by 'pizzazz'.
In general, specifics help when conflict arises because it gives both parties something concrete to address.
We can also overgeneralize when addressing behavior, expanding one small action into something we view as a larger, ongoing problem. Raise your hand if you’ve used the phrase “You always act like this” or “Why can’t you ever…”.
Conflicts can drag on and on when the parties involved don’t stick to the problem at hand. Let’s say, for example, that you’re upset I didn’t follow up with a client quickly enough to address an issue. That’s an action we can address. If you instead tell me I never follow up with clients quickly enough, I can’t help but be defensive. I couldn’t possibly be excessively late on every occasion, and if my work is so subpar, why haven’t you addressed it previously?
Giving feedback that’s overly generalized can elevate conflicts to unnecessary levels; stick to being prompt and detailed.
Defensiveness
I used to hate showing my work to others, especially before I thought it was perfect (it was never perfect). So much of my identity and ego were attached to what I produced that I was afraid of any negative feedback. And when it came, I’d react with defensiveness, often in the form of excuses. Needless to say, I learned and improved much more slowly than I would have if I had been open to all feedback that came my way.
To be defensive in the face of criticism is a natural response, especially if we care deeply about our work. Our egos tell us we are what we do, so if our work is subpar it means we’re subpar as a person. That’s simply untrue. Our work is our work and we are separate from it.
When we react defensively to feedback, we also teach others we don’t want to get better. When we attack them, we make them less likely to offer help in the future because they need to protect themselves. We all know how frustrating it is to continue to hear the same problems over and over from a friend who refuses to take our advice or only offers excuses for their behaviors.
Defensiveness might feel like it protects us, but all it really does it stifle our growth and separate us from the outside world. It is unhelpful in nearly every situation.
Mindfully Managing Conflict is Key to Future Success
What does mindfulness have to do with conflict? Well, nearly everything. It can be the difference between a moment of tension leading to a creative breakthrough or splitting up two promising business owners. How we react on a moment-to-moment basis makes all the difference.
As we explore the things to avoid when dealing with conflict -- avoidance, aggressiveness, defensiveness, etc. -- we begin to see a pattern emerge. When we resort to those behaviors, often it’s a reaction we haven’t considered fully. In our brains, that reaction is driven by our amygdala and limbic system, primitive parts of our brain sometimes called our “Lizard Brain,” that become triggered when we feel threatened.
Mindfulness helps us escape those reactive tendencies and instead choose how we’re going to respond. We gain freedom from our instinctual patterns.
As we step outside of these patterns and the negative cycles they create, we can elevate our work -- growing as individuals and as a team, focused on how we can work together to achieve our goals. We can choose to use our differences as additive benefits, not the other way around.
Employees come up with more creative solutions when they communicate openly. They’re more engaged when they feel safe and appreciated. As stress is reduced, they can come to work with better health and more energy to do work they care about.
Mindfully managing conflict is, in many ways, a tremendous competitive advantage.