Learning how to manage conflict successfully is a critical business skill that’s worth the time and effort to practice. Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence and Mark Gouston’s Just Listen are two resources among many that can help you strengthen your conflict management aptitude. Relationships can be messy, but with the right skills, attitude, and mindset, you will be able to address issues calmly, ensure that your customer feels heard and valued, and arrive at a solution that satisfies you both.
• Use the right tools to find a resolution of conflict
• Demonstrate the right attitude and behavior required for conflict resolution
• Determine the right solution to solve the problem
Many managers are promoted to leadership positions by virtue of their technical skills or subject-matter knowledge. Their proficiency and expertise set them apart from other candidates. These abilities are important, but they are just one aspect of being an effective leader. Leadership expert, Stephen Covey, says that due to the speed and constant change that define our world today, leaders need to be able to face new and different problems as they arise, make strategic decisions quickly, and guide their organizations with competence and character. He has identified four roles a leader must master in order to succeed in this ever-changing environment.
• Inspire trust among your team members
• Create a vision for your team
• Execute strategy to reach your goals
• Recognize your coaching potential
Why do we often say that it is important to effectively network and build strong business partnerships? It is because your success as a businessperson will be greatly affected by the professional relationships you cultivate. Whether leading employees, working on a cross-functional team, or meeting with colleagues at an industry conference, your ability to successfully network and build productive and authentic business relationships is important. Strong business relationships drive productivity and business success. Smart leaders spend time developing their interpersonal skills in order to build solid bonds with their employees, work productively and positively with peers and superiors, and generate business relationships that can contribute to personal and organizational success.
• Describe interpersonal skills
• Identify ways to build business partnerships
• Enlist key strategies to successful networking
Your day-to-day ability to genuinely connect and work well with others is the key to long-term career success. Especially in today’s work environment, where cross-unit, cross-functional, and even cross-organizational teams abound, those with strong interpersonal skills have a decided advantage. And you don’t have to be the stereotypical extroverted salesperson to possess these kinds of skills. Anyone can learn and practice how to interact with others in positive and productive ways. Whether you are collaborating with colleagues, attending a conference of industry peers, or chatting with a team member one-on-one, well-developed people skills give you the opportunity to build stronger relationships, foster goodwill, and cultivate influence with others.
• Manage business relationships
• Work collaboratively with your team
• Manage disagreement with colleagues
Problems come in all shapes and sizes, and they are an inevitable part of business life. Instead of trying to avoid or ignore them, it’s better to accept them, find ways to solve them and learn from them. With the right perspective, problems can even be gateways to innovation. There are a variety of models and methods that can be used to identify, analyze, and implement effective solutions. In this lesson, we will look at a hybrid of the A3 model, 5 Whys, and Divergent/Convergent methods.
• Identify the eight steps of the A3 model
• Assist your team in problem-solving