I got a call recently from my son, a college student who is away from home interning in his future profession. He had been enjoying everything about the experience, so I was expecting more of the same. But this call was different. He had made a mistake that cost other people (above him) time and resources to fix. When called out on the mistake, the supervisor was less than professional, and my son didn't handle the rebuke well. He wanted advice on what to do. He asked if he should just leave the internship; had he messed the whole thing up? Or should he just pretend it didn't happen and go on? How could he fix it??

While the mom in me was internally (no, I didn't say it!) criticizing the way the supervisor handled the situation, the professional in me started to explain to him that this was just part of managing workplace conflict. He had made a "rookie" mistake and needed to address the issue with the supervisor. As we talked through ways he could approach this, I started to think about my own experiences with conflict.

Workplace conflict is common, and those who take on leadership roles will inevitably face conflict from many different directions.
So my question today is, how do you handle workplace conflict, and what advice would you give aspiring leaders regarding conflict resolution?

My innate personality is to just avoid conflict. If you're familiar with the old 5-minute personality test, I'm a mix of the golden retriever and the beaver (I attached this "test" if you want to see what you are!). I think realizing my own tendencies has helped me manage conflict in a more appropriate way, as avoiding conflict just leads to me becoming frustrated. I like to read, and always learn a lot from books by Jon Gordon, John Maxwell, and Brene Brown. Do you have specific resources regarding managing conflict that you would be willing to share?

As for the situation with my son, after getting advice from an experienced co-worker, he talked with the supervisor. He now tells me he is "back on track."  I'm hoping he'll remember this lesson. It took me a lot longer into my career to gain the skills needed to face conflict in an appropriate way.

What about you?

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Natalie Benafield
Conway, AR
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