Have you ever been stuck in a workplace disagreement that felt impossible to resolve? Sometimes, the real problem isn’t what we’re arguing about—it’s what’s underneath it.
Let me know how you get on with today's tip:
💭 Introduction: Have you ever been in a workplace disagreement that felt impossible to resolve? It can be very helpful to distinguish the strategies that people are arguing about from the needs beneath them.
💭 Main Tip: So when you are involved in a conflict, instead of debating the strategy, you could try asking, “What’s most important to you about this?” to uncover the deeper needs.
💭 Example: For example, imagine two colleagues are in conflict over whether to allow remote work. One insists on being in the office, while the other wants flexibility to work from home. The debate is about where work happens, but the real needs may be about connection and autonomy. Once those needs are explicitly recognised, it becomes easier to explore practical solutions that really work for everyone.
💭 Over to You: This week, if you notice a disagreement, you could try asking, “What’s most important to you about this?” and see if shifting from strategy to needs helps open up the conversation and possible ways forward.
💭 Closing: Focusing on needs can help cut through disagreements and open up solutions that acknowledge what’s important to each person. Let me know how you get on with this!
Comments