职场冲突有好处

    就事论事而非就人论事

    如何培养团队以健康的方式解决问题？罗杰•费舍尔与威廉姆•L•尤里的《达成一致：无需让步的说服艺术》（Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In）一书就是很好的资源。该书的作者重点强调了直接关注公司或团队所面临的问题，而不是关注代表分歧另一方的个人，否则只会让矛盾升级，并分散人们对问题的关注。

    他们提到的另外一个主要观点是，人们往往会固执地坚持非此即彼的立场，而不是展开创造性地合作，寻找解决方案。相反，要培训团队走出自己的立场去考虑问题，努力判断其他人的根本利益。他们是否担心按照你所提议的程序会导致销量减少？他们是否担心引发客户不满？他们是否担心团队的信誉会受到影响？费舍尔和尤里曾写道，立场或许始终无法协调，但利益却可以调和。如果明确了矛盾双方的根本利益，就可以把精力用于寻找一种解决方案，来满足所有人最重要的需求。

    提出棘手的问题

    坦诚地讨论可能引起同事、（甚至更糟糕的是引起）老板负面反应的问题，需要的不仅仅是勇气。如果整个公司能够自上而下坚持这种做法，往往能取得最大的效果。同时还有巨大的潜在好处。

    2008年路透社（Reuters）与汤普森集团（Thompson）合并时，CEO德文•维尼格很清楚，真正的挑战是如何整合两批之前相互竞争的员工——两家公司共有50,000名员工，遍及93个国家。有害环境的潜在影响是巨大的。不过，在与维尼格进行第一次讨论时，我便知道，他决定打造一个不会让对方失望的团队。

    维尼格说：“打造一支有凝聚力的团队是我的首要任务。我希望打造的团队，是让人们感觉能够最大程度发挥彼此的才能，并且知道始终有其他人在背后支持自己。”

    经过第一阶段，维尼格自己的员工开始打开心扉，把彼此看成是有细微差别的正常人，所有人都有自己的优缺点。之后是第二阶段：创造一种环境，让人们可以向别人提出意见。比如，一位高管就批评维尼格在解决问题的时候总是不能集中注意力。虽然这位高管担心自己的行为有越界之嫌，但维尼格不仅接受了对方的批评，改变了自己的行为， 而且其他员工也感谢这位高管，因为他提出了他们一直敢怒不敢言的问题。

    并不是所有公司都愿意接受这种坦白的做法，但每一位团队领导者可以采取措施，建立一种更加诚实和支持性的文化。它将有益于培养团队凝聚力，大幅提高工作效率。（财富中文网）

    本文作者基斯•法拉奇是咨询公司Ferrazzi Greenlight的创始人兼CEO，并著有《谁在背后挺你》和《不要一个人吃饭》等作品。

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    Separate the person from the problem

    A great resource for coaching your team to healthy issue resolution is Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury. They stress the importance of keeping the focus squarely on the problem that the company or team is facing, rather than on the person who represents the other side in the disagreement, which merely escalates tensions and pulls the focus away from the problem.

    Another key point they make is that people often become entrenched in either-or positions rather than working collaboratively and creatively to find solutions. Instead, coach your team to look beyond the positions and try to figure out what the other person's underlying interests are. Are they worried sales will decline if they follow the course you're proposing? Are they concerned customers will be angry? Do they fear their group's reputation will suffer? Positions can't always be reconciled. Interests often can be, write Fisher and Ury. When both sides' underlying interests have been uncovered, energies can be directed toward finding a solution that meets everyone's most important needs.

    Bring up tough issues

    Plainly discussing topics that might prompt a negative reaction from a coworker -- or worse, a boss -- not only takes courage, it's usually most successful when the whole firm, from top to bottom, is committed to doing it. But the potential benefits are significant.

    When Reuters and Thompson merged in 2008, CEO Devin Wenig knew that the real challenge would be bringing together the two formerly competing staffs -- a total of 50,000 employees in 93 countries. The potential for a toxic environment was huge. But from my first discussion with Wenig, I knew he was committed to creating a group that would not let each other fail.

    "Building a cohesive team is my No. 1 priority," said Wenig. "I want to build a team where people feel they can get the best out of each other … and know that everybody else has their back."

    After a first session in which Wenig's own staff opened up and began to see each other as nuanced human beings with strengths and weaknesses, we took it to the next level: establishing an environment where it was okay for people to call each other out. One executive called out Wenig himself for being distracted at times when approached about a problem. Despite the executive's fear that he'd overstepped a line, Wenig not only took the criticism and changed his behavior, but other employees expressed their gratitude that he'd brought up an issue that was on their minds.

    Not all companies are ready to make as full a commitment to being candid, but every team leader can take steps toward establishing a more honest -- and supportive -- culture. The potential upside in team cohesion and productivity is enormous.

    Keith Ferrazzi is the founder and CEO of consulting firm Ferrazzi Greenlight and the author of Who's Got Your Back and Never Eat Alone.