Handling Peer Conflict When Your Directs Are Involved (Part 2 of 2)
February 11th, 2007Part 2 of our 2-part series on managing conflict when your directs are involved.
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February 13th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Hi Mark,
One of my direct is good in leaving voice-mails and he tend to choose voicemail over email (yep, he has high I in him). He left several messages to follow up on something but no response from my peer. What are the best ways to keep records so that when stuff hits the fan …
February 15th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
M2B,
based on what I’ve seen, I think a good way to deal with that is to get your direct to get used to journal everytime they leave a voice mail, have a discussion &c. They can also note when they send an email, post a letter or write a report &c.
Whether they use a paper diary to jot down “10:05 Called Bob about Foo project, left voice mail asking for costs on bar.”, use thier Outlook/Lotus Notes/Crackberry/whatever calendar, keep a running record in a document/spreadsheet or you go for a full blown blogging solution doesn’t really matter (actually I’ve found that unless the individual is a total IT addict or has really bad handwriting, that’s me on both counts, a page-a-day A4/Foolscap/Letter sized diary is ideal). What you’re looking for is a chronological record of what they did. It’s not as hard evidence as an email or a recorded delivery letter but if it ever gets to a situation where you need to show a more senior manager that you and your directs have fulfilled your obligations it really does strengthen your case.
The key is to time stamp everything and to fill it in as soon as possible after what you’re recording, make it habit that as soon as you (or your direct in this case) hang up the phone you jot down who you just called and the key point(s) of what you said, it works well for anything where you talk to someone on the phone or face-to-face.
If you record everything then, as well as providing backup for sticky situations, it can provide a useful aide memoir of what you did on a particular day so if you need to check for whatever reason (where I work we are, for some reason, often faced with queries like “Why did you reboot the Q server on [date 5 months ago]?” or “I know you emailed that report a few months back. I need it again but I can’t find the email folder I put it in, when was it?”, the manager who came out with the last one archives his read emails, regardless of subject, every Friday afternoon into a folder for that week) it’s there.
Stephen
February 16th, 2007 at 1:19 am
The example “If you were an effective manager …” from a direct to a peer in an email message almost caused my to laugh myself into oncoming traffic. Very funny.
Steve
February 16th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Guys, what a fantastic couple of podcasts this was. I really enjoyed the banter, and the topic was spot on for me this week in particular.
I know I have a weakness where keeping my mouth shut is concerned. My D powers me to get things done quickly and efficiently, but they also get me into trouble because I’m a little too bold in what I say, say too much, and rush to judgment about others too quickly with too little information.
This advice was well-received. Thanks for another life lesson, guys!
February 17th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Hi,
I would like to have your advice for the following ituation
How to get the things done ?
My direct send a email two time to my peer ( My peer as to negociate with our suppliers) . I try to call him twice and he doesn t answer, I send email tree emails then no answer.
Now what can I do in manager tool way ?
February 25th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
[…] So imagine my surprise when the latest episode of Manager Tools used Roadhouse as one of their examples when discussing Handling Peer Conflict When Your Directs Are Involved. The example was around one of their steps in handling conflict, which was “Turn the other cheek”. In the movie, there is a scene in which Patrick Swayze is laying down the rules for working in the bar now that he has been hired as a cooler. Oddly, the scene really does illustrate the point Mark was making quite well: DALTON: […]
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:43 pm
what are these categories you refer to High D, S, I — where can I get some more information on this?
March 21st, 2007 at 9:01 pm
M2B-
Type himself an email with the details that he files away, or use a task in outlook and fill in the Note field.
Mark
March 21st, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Allie-
If you become a member, you can subscribe to our members only casts, which include discussion of a tool called DiSC, which is a behavioral profile tool we use and like. Very powerful.
Mark