Your high-potential employee is facing team conflicts. How can you guide them as they step into leadership?

In my experience, guiding high-potential employees through team conflicts involves ensuring they have sufficient training and mentorship in handling honest yet challenging conversations. Emphasize that a leader's success is intertwined with their team's success. Encourage them to tackle issues head-on while maintaining respect and dignity for all involved. By focusing on these practices, they will develop the skills necessary to manage conflicts effectively and foster a collaborative, supportive team environment.

Help the high-potential employee to reflect on their expertise and skills (aka intelligence) as well as their relationships and connection abilities (aka emotional intelligence). Often, new promotions of an expert can have difficulty in leading with emotional intelligence. Help this person analyze their abilities in both areas and then co-create a plan to address them. This can be thru individual effort as well as working with their new staff. This requires daily action and weekly reflection. Leadership is more than positional authority, it is also influential authority. The latter requires care, humility and relationship building. It is worth the effort.

Don’t be tempted to rush this stage - the AI creating this article based on may have broken the process down into six components, but this first one is the most important, most complex and most challenging. Your protege is learning here to both master their own stories and biases in action but also the biases and motivations of others. Seeking to understand by actively listening will build trust while ensuring you both uncover the real sticking point. To reveal the real problems, all sides need to trust you and believe you have their and the team’s interests at heart. Building trust isn’t a stage that kicks in later, it should be our starting point - human psychology demands it.

In order to support your high-potential employee in navigating team conflicts as they transition into a leadership role, consider providing them with guidance on conflict resolution strategies, effective communication techniques, and fostering a collaborative work environment. Additionally, encourage them to seek feedback from team members, promote transparency, and lead by example to cultivate a positive and productive team dynamic. By equipping them with these tools and skills, they can confidently address challenges and lead their team towards success.

The most effective ways I've seen leaders develop people is by helping them to see what they don't yet see about how effectively they show up. Sugar coating does people a disservice, because as we step into more leadership, the need to see reality as it is becomes increasingly vital. All of us have areas of improvement that we will only become aware of as others help us see them. I see people respond well to sensitive conversations like this when the leader (or coach) starts with clarity about what they want - to help this person develop - and then shares from their own experience about how they started having breakthroughs once someone shared with them honestly about what they weren't seeing yet. Be direct & honest, trust your people.

Conversas difíceis importam! Líderes precisam estar preparados para promover conversas claras e que geram resultados. Quando um funcionário de alto potencial enfrenta conflitos de equipe, é essencial que ele encare a situa??o de frente. Sua orienta??o deve focar em desenvolver a capacidade para lidar com as diferen?as de forma construtiva. 1. Incentive-o a ouvir todos os lados envolvidos com empatia e compreens?o das perspectivas distintas. 2. Cultivar a coragem para mediar diferen?as, mantendo o foco no objetivo comum da equipe. Grandes líderes encaram conversas difíceis com confian?a e clareza. Ao guiar seu colaborador nessa jornada, você estará moldando um líder capaz de inspirar e unir, mesmo diante das adversidades.

Listening is more than just hearing & can be one of the hardest skills to develop! We have to get past the defensiveness that comes up for many of us, the idea that we already know and don't need more information, perspectives, noise. Encourage your people to get curious, because that will drive listening. And model this yourself. For people to start opening up to them, they will need to build trust first, including trust that they will value what is shared and engage sincerely with it. I like to ask people to take some time after an important interaction to write down their reflections on what they have learned from that interaction, from that person. It helps them integrate learnings and also reinforce that there is valuable learning!

Empathy isn't just a buzzword; it's the cornerstone of transformative leadership. As a CEO who once struggled with team dynamics, I discovered that true empathy goes beyond understanding—it's about feeling alongside others. Empathy isn't weakness; it's a superpower. It turns conflicts into opportunities for growth, transforms teams into families, and molds managers into leaders people willingly follow. My challenge to aspiring leaders: Make empathy your north star. Listen not just with your ears, but with your heart. In doing so, you'll not only resolve conflicts—you'll prevent them, creating a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.

When a high-potential employee faces team conflicts, it’s easy for them to feel overwhelmed or defensive. But true leadership begins with empathy—understanding the thoughts and feelings behind others' actions. Encourage them to step back, quiet their mind, and truly listen to their team. By connecting with others on a deeper level, they’ll foster trust and open the door to resolution. Empathy is the bridge that transforms conflict into collaboration. Guide them to lead with their heart, and they’ll find that their influence grows naturally, grounded in understanding and compassion.

To help a high potential team member build deeper relationships and develop credibility, it’s important to see how they are perceived at this point so you can help them build trust. - Help them see the feedback - Help them build an action plan - Help them take intentional ownership over the challenges and results - Take a pool verbally and by 360 degree feedback of gauge progress Model the practice, allow them to watch you in action, and stay close to their progress.

Develop the Conflict Resolution Skills of the employee by providing training on conflict resolution techniques, such as negotiation, mediation, and effective communication. Provide constructive feedback on their performance, highlighting both their strengths and areas for improvement then pair the employee with a mentor who can provide guidance and support as they navigate leadership challenges.

Para orientar este funcionário de alto potencial que está enfrentando conflitos de equipe, comece incentivando uma análise objetiva das causas das tens?es. Facilite o diálogo entre as partes, permitindo que todos expressem suas preocupa??es. Em seguida, trabalhe para desenvolver solu??es conjuntas, acordadas por todos. Apoie a implementa??o dessas solu??es e monitore os resultados. Por fim, ajude o funcionário a adquirir habilidades de comunica??o e resolu??o de conflitos para evitar problemas futuros, fortalecendo sua lideran?a.

To help the up and coming leader do a review of their recent success or struggle, push them to reflect on the actions they have taken and how their people have reacted. Have them look back at the communication and how others took it, and how they could adjust their approach.

Kommentar: Um zukünftige Konflikte effektiv zu vermeiden, sollte der High-Potential-Mitarbeiter nicht nur kurzfristige L?sungen anstreben, sondern auch Resilienz und Anpassungsf?higkeit entwickeln. Dies erfordert eine langfristige Vision, die auf nachhaltigem Vertrauen und klaren Zielen basiert. Ein starkes Team entsteht durch das Gleichgewicht von individueller Empathie und strategischer Zielorientierung. Die Führungskraft sollte die F?higkeit entwickeln, sich auf neue Herausforderungen flexibel einzustellen und gleichzeitig die übergeordnete Mission im Auge zu behalten. Dadurch wird eine nachhaltige, konfliktarme Teamkultur gef?rdert.