Conflicts at work are never limited to employees. They can also happen among management, which can create work environment tension that makes everyone uneasy. To help you avoid such problems, take a minute to learn about common leadership conflicts in the workplace and how to resolve them. You’ll enjoy a healthier, happier work environment as a result.
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Poor Communication
Lacking communication among business owners and managers is a frequent issue across all industries. The problem is compounded when there are multiple business locations throughout the county, state, or country, especially when different time zones factor in. One manager at a location in Cleveland, OH might always lag with email responses, while another manager in San Francisco, CA answers email questions immediately. As communication issues increase and become more apparent, resentment often builds.
To establish quality communication channels with your managers, set some guidelines. For example, you could ask everyone to reply to new emails from fellow managers within 20 minutes whenever possible, or have a meeting where every person gets to air their communication grievances and discuss ways to improve. If there are managers who remain poor communicators despite your best efforts, you might consider placing them in roles where keeping up with emails or answering phone calls is not necessary.
Differing Ideas Regarding Brand Direction
Managers can clash when they have distinctly different ideas about the brand’s direction. Some managers could want the brand to take a kid-friendly turn, while others want to continue targeting high-income adults. Team leaders can also disagree about issues such as new logo designs, brand color schemes, and how to appeal to your target market.
No matter what the brand direction issue is, there is a relatively easy way to solve it. A team meeting with the owner and managers to discuss the future of the company can prove helpful, since the owner has the final say. Even if the managers are not happy with the decision, they are unlikely to argue with their boss. These individuals also might find the new direction is more in line with their vision than they originally realized.
Micromanagement Issues
Leadership conflicts in the workplace often arise because some managers fall into the “micromanager” category and others do not. Those who belong to the latter category frequently field complaints from their team about micromanagers “doing their job for them” or “asking them to do work they already know about or are currently focused on.”
Unless you work for a company that praises micromanagement, it’s a good idea to remind managers of their roles. It is not their job to do their employees’ work, rather, they are there to help however they can. If some managers refuse to comply and continue getting complaints, you might have to limit their responsibilities.
Longstanding Personal Problems
Sometimes, managers come up within a company together and land leadership roles around the same time. And while many people who work together at the same company for a lengthy period have wonderful relationships, there are others who simply dislike each other. Their personalities might not mesh, or there was an issue several years ago that bred resentment. Since petty personal problems can interfere with productivity, reminding these individuals that they are, in fact, at work is key. Personal problems are for off hours. They don’t have to like each other, but these individuals must get along for the sake of their jobs. Being civil does not take significant effort, after all!
Leadership conflicts in the workplace are normal occurrences. Don’t feel bad about such issues–take steps to resolve them instead! Contact Pollack Peacebuilding today for professional conflict resolution assistance.
