Managing Personality Conflicts In A Small Practice

Managing personality conflicts is one of the biggest challenges in business, but it is key to creating and maintaining a happy and productive workplace. It is almost unavoidable for any business – particularly those with a small team as many vein practices are, not to have some level of conflict.

There can be many reasons for conflict to arise. For example, when staff feel another team member’s poor performance or attitude isn’t being addressed. Change is another catalyst as some employees find it difficult to adapt to new situations, or a change in practice oversight, such as a co-worker being given more responsibility and authority.

Dealing with conflict, and avoiding it in the first place, invariably comes down to the practice manager. The worst thing you can do as a practice manager is ignore a toxic relationship within your practice – which often occurs as manager’s are concerned about overstepping the boundary between professional and personal relationships. Everyone wants to be liked.

When to Intervene
I think well-trained practice managers should be able to develop a better understanding of how and when to intervene. Informal measures are a good starting point, such as asking if they need help to resolve the situation and what they have tried to do so far. A really healthy and helpful approach is to empower and motivate them to settle the matter themselves, if they are happy to do so, with some coaching from you. However, it is crucial to check back and see what has happened.

If the situation cannot be resolved by the parties concerned then a practice manager should take control. The first step should be to speak to each person individually about what the issue is, before bringing everyone together for a dialogue. When people are uncomfortable about a situation – whether it’s those directly involved or the practice manager trying to resolve it – they often resort to communicating via email. It is important to invest time in face-to-face conversations.

People not feeling listened to is another reason for conflict, so it is important in these conversations (and day-to-day in the practice) that everyone feels that their views are heard and accepted. Empathetic listening, the ability to truly listen without jumping in, is therefore a vital skill in resolving conflicts.

The ability to reflect things back to people using positive re-wording is also key. For example, you will often hear a negative statement like ‘she never listens to anything I say!’ The reframing might be ‘It is important to you that she understands what you are saying’. This acknowledges the problem, but gives it a positive emphasis, and it often helps both parties to hear messages in a different way.

Reaching a Resolution
Resolution takes time, trying to rush can often end up making it worse. It’s a delicate process and it’s important to determine what the real issues are.  Often, it’s not what is being argued about on the surface that is the actual conflict, and there may be a more serious problem or underlying issue. You need to allow the people involved to speak and feel listened to in a safe environment where they feel they can open up. This will ensure conflicts aren’t bottled up, which can lead to them escalating out of proportion.

If the issues cannot be resolved, it may be necessary to separate the parties involved, if possible. But every effort should be made to prevent and address conflicts as different personalities, if handled correctly, can strengthen a team by contributing different ideas and solutions.

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