Changing the World A Conversation At A Time

How Honing Our Conflict Management Skills Can Help Us Shape A Healthier Future

Franz, certified mediator and seasoned leader

If we want to change and shape a future that’s healthier we need to work together. Diversity of thought will allow for the creation of better solutions. For this we need to up our conflict management game, where we learn to critically reflect on our belief system, stay open, and step into others people’s shoes. People skilled in conflict management enable a more inclusive work culture where people speak up and teams become more innovative as they use opposing world views for creative friction.

My guest Franz Wiehler is a certified mediator and seasoned leader. He was the CFO of Siemens Medical Ultrasound’s business unit and today he leads the company’s Project Management Initiative & Practice Internal Audit. His leadership experience has taught him why conflict management and negotiation skills are key to unleashing the power of diversity and enabling “speak up” culture.

Episode #22 In A Nutshell

This episode’s invites you to reflect on:

What’s your intention when you face conflict and need to negotiate? Try to set the intention to listen to find similarities, and use the differences to expand and build bridges between parties
Do you have a common purpose that drives the agenda? Or is your own agenda running the show and blocking your ability to learn or find consensus?
Get curious about people’s interests, their backgrounds, their experiences, and ask yourself, how can we pursue a common purpose that contributes towards an outcome that’s better for the greater good of society/this team and not just benefiting me/them?
What’s your approach to diffuse conflict? Can you ask for help? What about trying to ask the other person you’re in conflict with for help to resolve the problem? Vulnerability is a powerful tool that disarms people during conflict
How do you invite others to embrace conflict? Are you as a leader publicly rewarding people that oppose your opinion?

Throughout the episode we refer to Friedrich Glasl’s Nine-Stage Model Of Conflict Escalation.

Connect with us:

Franz on Linkedin

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