Avionics News May 2015 - 51

a swift, meaningful resolution. Otherwise, when these
clashes go untended, they can cause collateral damage
throughout your avionics shop.

"offender's" performance or motivation. Or maybe, they
have different backgrounds, political views or socialeconomic status that shapes their outspoken views, or
they're habitually negative or cynical, all of which can
Consequential causes
make working alongside them a challenge.
If conflicts are ubiquitous, so are their causes.
Eventually, sore feelings boil over. You may see that
Different opinions. Competition. Power struggles.
as an overt blowup in the conference room, or, more
Performance issues. Pride. Fear. Frustration. Whatever
subtly, as a wall of silence between workers or teams as
the cause, they come with clear signs - and even more
employees suppress their feelings as a coping mechanism,
tangible costs.
according to the workplace consultancy, Acas.
Most conflicts arise for two fundamental reasons: bad
Regardless of the form, the affected employees are
communications or uncontrolled emotions, according
at risk of several signs of conflict fatigue. They may
to Mike Myatt, leadership advisor and author of
lose motivation, so they resist taking on new projects
Hacking Leadership. In
or stop giving input at
the first case, employees
meetings. They may snipe
get no information, wrong
or stop socializing in the
Some conflict is necessary;
information, or partial
lunchroom. They may
it means people are engaged
information about projects
call in sick more often, as
in their jobs and care about
or issues. You can't blame
the fatigue builds stress
their work, and it's how you get
someone for getting ticked
and depression. Or their
better as a business.
off if she's proceeded with a
productivity may falter, and
job only to find out halfway
you start to hear complaints
through that specs have
that colleagues seem to be
changed, deadlines have moved, or product shipments
dropping the ball more often.
have been delayed, especially if all of that could have
Of course, the search for a solution should occur
been conveyed sooner; that goes double if information is
before that happens. By the time you're seeing these
habitually withheld by one employee to give him power
symptoms, they've festered and escalated, and you're
over others.
losing productivity. In fact, the discomfort of solving
This leads to the other cause: exploding emotions.
conflict is far less than the pain that will come if it's left
Employees are people; that means they have different
untended or managed incorrectly.
values, interests and personalities. Emotional issues
occur when employees don't accept those differences
Predicting responses
in their colleagues. An employee with an eye on a
Some conflict is necessary; it means people are
promotion may feel the need to compete rather than
engaged in their jobs and care about their work, and
cooperate. Other employees who are ultracompetitive
it's how you get better as a business. The issue is how
may be aggressive and condescending as they posture
employees choose to deal with it. Left to their own
for Alpha status, which leaves others defensive. Still,
devices, most people aren't well tuned to resolving
others may feel the need to compete over scarce shop
conflict. Of the potential ways they may react, only two
time or technician availability.
will actually make the situation better.
Besides these causes, employees arrive each day
The most common reaction they - and you - may
with different work styles. Some work quickly or
choose is avoidance. If you bury your head in the sand,
tackle a project as soon as it hits their to-do list, while
eventually it'll solve itself, or at least slither back into
others like the rush of a deadline, or prefer to work on
the background. That may be true, but in the meantime,
favorite tasks first; any of these can rub co-workers the
wrong way, particularly if there's a question about the
Continued on following page
avionics news

may

2015

Avionics News May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News May 2015