While I was away, my incharge felt that her colleague did not handle a customer situation as she would or as quickly as she would have done. Instead of talking to him the emails flew back and forth. The colleague, who really did not handle the situation well and did not take the criticism well from the incharge, and instead of talking to the incharge, went around to other staff members blasting the incharge for the way she criticized him. So now there are factions in the staff and the communication is really bad. How do I bring the factions together and bring the communication and team work back to where it was before I left.
The Team Doc Says…
Not a fun way to return after being away from the office, is it? 
Using your leadership skills you will be able to resolve this conflict issue. This is a good opportunity to do some coaching. You have three things you need to do right away.
1) Have a discussion with the person you left in charge. Talk about what happened, how and why the situation went south so badly. Ask her — Given what she knows now, what method would she use to handle the situation should it occur again? Coach and guide during this discussion. You should use it as a growth opportunity for this person you felt confident enough to leave in charge. Discuss how the situation can be resolved and ask for her ideas.
2) Have a discussion with the person who reacted to the input from the incharge. Talk about what happened, how and why the situation went south so badly. Ask why he took the approach he did to the situation and talk about how it created the current conflict situation in the team. Ask for ideas about how the situation can be remedied.
Advise both of these team members that the three of you will be having a meeting to resolve this conflict. A good process to use for your discussion would be:
Open —-> Clarify —-> Develop —-> Agree —-> Close
Open: Initiate the discussion by focusing on the problem not the person.
Clarify: Define the problem in neutral terms.
Develop: Identify alternatives and solutions.
Agree: Evaluate the alternatives to determine a “win-win” outcome.
Close: Verify commitment. Create an action plan to implement the solution.
3) Have a meeting with your team. Since this conflict is interfering with team communication and has the potential to jeopardize the achievement of team goals, every team member has a stake in the outcome. The key to resolving the conflict effectively is to use a process team members can follow. Make sure you establish ground rules for this discussion with a key ground rule being keep emotion out of the discussion as much as possible. You should lead your team through this discussion.
Step 1: Describe the conflict in neutral terms. What exactly is the issue? Describe it without including any inferences or assumptions.
Step 2: Identify critical needs and concerns. Identify what each team member needs to resolve the conflict. List any concerns.
Step 3: Develop alternatives to resolving the conflict. Through discussion and active listening, brainstorm possible alternatives all members can live with.
Step 4: Evaluate solutions to determine a win-win outcome(s). Using the items identified in Step 3, evaluate those that will have a win-win solution for each team member.
Step 5: Establish an action plan to implement solution(s). Put it into action! The conflict will continue until action is taken to create a different outcome.
Don’t let the situation simmer. It will only get worse with time. Take action now and you’ll get your team back on the right track. Let me know how it works out for you.
How about you, reader? Do you have additional advice to offer? Agree, disagree with the approach? Please leave a comment.
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Thanks, What I did not do is get them together and talk it out since I was not sure how to handle it. I hope it is not too late. I’ll let you know how it turns out. L
Good for you! I don’t think it’s too late to get the two of them together. There may still be some things simmering below the surface that will appear at the most inappropriate time. If that’s the case, you’ll want to get it cleared now. If all is well, you’ll find that out too.
Unfortunately both of them have been on jury duty and out of the office and then on vacation. I am leaving again on Thursday and won’t be back until Monday. However, I am still smiling!!! Thanks for all of our advice and help. I feel more confident to resolve this situation withthe entire team. Will keep you posted. L
It is always rough to watch team unity deteriorate so quickly. I think the above communication outlines are great, people need to know what happened and why that was a negative thing. Maybe though after you are done talking things out your team needs a bit of a break. You were out of the office and had a break but maybe they feel worn down by the day to day activities. Think about something you can do to liven the office back up. Have a catered lunch, or in an entertainer to come in for an hour and perform as a break, or maybe it possible let everyone go home a half a day early.
CMOE — Thanks for sharing your ideas. Getting the team together to lighten up the environment is a good idea. Thanks for suggesting it.