As individuals, we can be creative and ambitious in our personal lives and in our professional lives. But individual efforts can’t always match the energy and productivity of a group. Cultures, societies, clubs, schools, and militaries arose out of our need to band together for mutual support. Organizations were created to deal more effectively with the environment—both the natural world and the world of work. But there is a trade-off when we move from individual contributions to group efforts: the relationships necessary for working together can spawn conflict.
In organizations, tensions between individuals need to be defused, or focused in order to find productive solutions to problems. This is especially critical when conflict arises between people at different levels in the organization, such as when you are having a conflict with your boss. These tensions aren’t easy to handle. Conflict can generate discomfort, anger, and ineffective behavior. Feelings such as fear and resentment can rise to the surface. Organizational issues such as unclear lines of authority, power, politics, and ineffective support systems also come into play.
Although these internal and external factors create a rich and complicated landscape for conflict to flourish, a conflict with your boss doesn’t necessarily spell the end of your career with an organization. There are steps you can take to gain perspective on conflict and to manage the conflict so that it focuses your energy and your boss’s energy on the needs of the organization, moving both of you toward a more productive working relationship.
This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared-in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today's leadership and organizational challenges.
The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL's mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.
Davida Sharpe is a senior faculty member at CCL, and has worked with such organizations as Verizon Communications, Catholic Healthcare Partners, and the Sara Lee Corporation. During her eight years at CCL she has also served as worldwide director of CCL’s Leadership Development Program (LDP)® and Foundations of Leadership program, in which she developed processes and content related to the challenge of conflict management. She holds an M.S. in counseling from North Carolina A&T State University.
Elinor Johnson is a senior faculty member at CCL with more than sixteen years of experience as a trainer and as a consultant in the areas of organizational and leadership assessment and development. She has worked with such organizations as Merrill Lynch, Xerox Corporation, ABC Daytime, AT&T Solutions, and many others. She holds an M.A. in organizational communication from Wake Forest University.
