SEPARATE DUTIES BY CLARIFYING ROLES

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ry your best to avoid employee collisions and conflicts by being clear about who does what and why. People like to know what they are responsible for and the overall leader is in the best position to establish everyone’s lanes.

Match decision making to responsibilities.

Are the roles you’ve put in place really designed to succeed? As an employee, do you have all of the tools you need to accomplish your goals? A lot of time can be spent on discussing fairness. A good way to avoid those conflicts is to take the time to match decision making authorities with the responsibilities you have set for the team members. If there is a mismatch, you will have conflict and underperformance by design. Avoid that by thinking through what you want out of the role.

Seek to increase collaboration while clarifying boundaries.

You need to set boundaries so you don’t allow pushing and shoving over turf. Everyone likes to have a clear definition of their territory but day to day life isn’t so simple. Most business problems require a team effort to resolve. And, you probably can’t afford to give everyone on your team their own complete staff. So, make sure that collaboration is seen as a key aspect of your culture. Everyone must be able to work and play well with others in order to build a successful enterprise. Start setting that expectation from the beginning.

Provide a forum for disagreements.

Collaboration isn’t always easy because people are, well, people. They will disagree and you absolutely want that. But you also want the matters to be resolved in a civil way so that there isn’t any long term aftershock that creates a drag on performance. Incorporate the positive aspects of disagreements into your environment but provide a means of resolving them through stand sessions like meetings. Weekly staff sessions or dedicated forums are equally effective.