Question
Why does mindset matter during conflict resolution in the workplace?
Answer
Conflict can be natural, and it is necessary. I honestly believe that if you have a wrong, incorrect, negative mindset about a matter, it will affect any strategy that you implement. We see this with our patients. For example, we have seen two patients with the same diagnosis and similar situations with different outcomes. What is the difference? What has been unlocked for one and not the other?
Oftentimes, we see a different mindset, positive over negative, the thinking that "I can, versus I cannot, or I am doomed." Mindset matters in everything, even in conflict resolution. The first mindset shift I want you to adopt is there is no unsolvable problem. Frequently, when I am going over conflict resolution strategies in a specific situation, I get into a conversation with someone who, no matter what strategy or the technique, pounces on it and says, "It is not going to work." You are right. If you take that mindset into conflict, it will not work. Foremost, there is no unsolvable problem. The worst boss you have ever had, the most horrible coworker, the rudest patient, it is not unsolvable in your dealings with them. Secondly, you cannot wait to feel comfortable before you navigate or handle conflict resolution.
If you are waiting for this perfect situation, set of scenarios, perfect ending, perfect feeling that "Okay, now is the right time," it will never come. You cannot wait to feel comfortable addressing your boss about your raise because discomfort will always exist. You cannot wait to feel completely comfortable before you talk to this abrasive coworker because you will never feel comfortable. The mindset of knowing that I will have to push past the feeling of discomfort and still handle the conflict is the mindset that you have to adapt and adopt.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Respiratory Therapy Conflict Resolution and Application in the Workplace, presented by Mira Rollins, OTR/L.
