What do you do if team members are in conflict and need a consultant's emotional intelligence?

Assessing the situation comprehensively is essential before embarking on conflict resolution. Listen attentively to each team member's viewpoint without bias, striving to grasp the underlying causes of the conflict. Employ emotional intelligence to empathize and acknowledge the emotions involved. This approach enables you to uncover not only the overt issues but also the emotional triggers driving the dispute. Understanding these nuances is pivotal in selecting the most suitable approach to resolve the conflict and facilitate progress.

Consulting often means working across a wide cross-section of stakeholders, both internal and external. Strategic planning as well as people management skills come into play. One of the critical aspects is conflict management. This doesn't mean bulldozing per plan. Lot of human exceptions can happen which may put your plan in backlog mode. It is critical to listen to team, why the situation arose and do what is right per engagement and to maximize outcomes. Listening sometimes solves 50% of the matter and rest 50% needs to be a plan that ensures inclusion of the conflicting team members.

Never charge in to provide a solution. Adults are involved and its best if people find the wisdom to find a solution for the conflict themselves. All you can do is to remind everyone of the larger goal, help them realize that they have 2 options: A) to rise and resolve the conflict and move ahead or B) Remain stuck in proving their point while achieving nothing.

In the eye of a team conflict, emotional intelligence is my compass. To navigate these waters, I take a step back to chart the undercurrents—the unstated feelings and perspectives. By actively listening and valuing each voice, I avoid the shoals of blame and steer towards understanding. It’s not just about addressing what’s been said, but also what’s been felt, laying bare the emotional subtext so we can address it with compassion.

As a consultant, you are in charge of finding the core. They might be in conflict for many reasons, and you must talk to them, sometimes in person, to know what is going on. That might even be something not related to their job but to their families and private lives. Whatever it might be, please find it and try to solve it. They can't deal with projects by overthinking about conflicts.

Establishing clear boundaries is paramount for fostering a positive work environment, particularly during moments of heightened emotions. As consultants, it's imperative to lead by example, guiding team members in cultivating respectful communication practices. By setting ground rules that prioritize constructive dialogue over personal attacks, we create an atmosphere where everyone feels heard and valued. Leveraging emotional intelligence allows us to assertively uphold these boundaries without escalating tensions, ultimately paving the way for collaborative problem-solving and collective success.

Establishing boundaries isn’t about erecting walls; it’s about laying down lines on a map where respect forms the borders. As a consultant, I foster an environment where emotional boundaries are respected. This is the groundwork for constructive dialogue—ensuring that assertiveness doesn’t morph into aggression, and emotions don’t escalate into conflicts. Here, emotional intelligence serves as a guide, enabling us to engage in conversations that are honest yet considerate, assertive yet not hurtful.

Conflict is a reactive issue that could be prevented with weekly checkins with your team. Turn reactive into proactive by really caring for your team and conflict slowly disappears. Also the more you tolerate conflict the more conflict you’ll get!

Sin lugar a duda, propiciar un ambiente de diálogo sano. Recuerdo que en mis inicios en equipos con conflictos, dialogaba por separado para “no generar conflictos” y sin saberlo, propiciaba un ambiente de tensión innecesaria que fortalecía las disfuncionalidades del equipo (modelo de Patrick Lencioni). Una vez y con mucho miedo, me atreví a generar una conversación entre todos y el resultado fue muy revelador. Hubo lágrimas, molestias y hasta incomodidades, pero con 2 pautas claras como: “lo que dice el otro es su verdad, la respeto y trataré de entenderlo” y “?Qué puedo hacer para mejorar esta situación?”, ayudó a que el equipo saliera del conflicto y trabajaran mejor. Recuerdo percibir a corto plazo un buen ambiente y un mejor performance

Before discussion begins, the consultant should establish ground rules to ensure communication remains respectful & productive. ? Throughout the communication process, the consultant should reframe perspectives, find common grounds & brainstorm solutions collaboratively. ??

Professionalism is expressed by being empathetic, tempering character, and prioritizing objectivity. Those who are unable to control their impulses are incapable of working as a team.

When they learn to walk in each other's shoes, they will reduce their judgmental points of view about each other. Let them talk with each other and give feedback.

You need to be proactive in managing the project with your teams, by organising regular meetings to avoid misunderstandings and unspoken messages, and to encourage communication and motivation. In the case of unavoidable conflict, identify the sticking points through dialogue with the relevant parties. During this dialogue, it will be necessary to invite everyone to express their point of view, but also to make everyone understand the other's perception. And finally, to remind everyone of the common objectives that should not be lost sight of and that are normally agreed by all.

Empathy plays the most vital role in dispute resolution using emotional intelligence. The consultant should ask open ended questions & engage in empathetic inquiry to delve deeper into the root causes of the conflict.

A inteligência emocional é uma habilidade que pode ser desenvolvida. Com prática e paciência poderemos transformar conflitos em oportunidades de crescimento. Promover ambiente seguro, participativo, identificar necessidades e objetivos, constru??o em conjunto de equipes mais fortes.

When you follow up, they will see you care, trust you more, try their best to achieve long-term success and collaborate better.

I always schedule 30/60/90 day check-in sessions with clients upon project launch to ensure things are going smoothly, assess potential risks, promote success, and add ongoing support. This shows the client you care, and are genuine in your work effort.

Ongoing support & guidance should be provided by the consultant after the initial conflict resolution process is over. The consultant should - ?? Check in with team members periodically ?? Address any lingering issues ?? Reinforce positive communication & conflict management skills

In my experience, it is always good to understand the other person's perspective. Empathy is key to making a connection and then build on it. All the 6 steps are key, but if your team members switches off on you, none would work, so understand, relate and build.

It’s good to understand your team. Useful tool is Gallup’s CliftonStrengths. It will help you better understand yourself and your team. 34 themes will show you where you and your team members stand. It also provides coaching for you as manager how to deal with people opposite on side of your profile. For example if one of your dominant theme is Activator and your team member highest theme is Harmony. You will like be on opposite sides of spectrum. Clifton’s coaching can help you understand how to deal with them and speak to them so they understand. It’s about practice but knowing yourself and your team is the most important step you can take.