There are companies who are sensitive to workplace personality conflict and simply cannot afford it because of the implication. A military organization for instance cannot afford the clash of personality as it could cost unquantifiable damage. Your organization may not be dealing with an area as sensitive as that of the military but it can still borrow one or two things from the way they reduce personality clashes to the minimum.
Ingrained Belief In The Organization
The military have an ingrained belief in what they represent and what they do. They training they undergo re-enforces this belief to the point where it is not an issue that individual within the structure will doubt for a second. This is the bedrock of how they interact with each other. The issue of whether the next person is as invested in the success of this organization or mission as I am is not brought to the table because it is a non-issue.
This is instructive as commercial organizations can mimic that belief system in their values, transferring it to individuals that make up the organization. If the ability to ingrain this system of belief in the individuals that make up the organization in high, it will ensure that the kind of success the military has can be replicated Transferring this belief to a commercial organization may need a lot of tweaking. You will have to look at the underlying reason behind this belief system. Military personnel believe that they are in an organization that is standing for a noble cause and would want to do everything to represent that organization. The organization or business owner has to find a way of transferring that bigger-than-me ideal to the staff.
Members of the military find it easy to hold back their personality because of this sense of lofty ideal. Your business target should be more than individual fulfillment. When a business is built in such a way that loyalty to the overall goal of the firm surpasses individual achievement, members of staff will be subconsciously bury their personality i.e. conflicts due to personality clashes with be reduced to the barest minimum. A company that is fighting for its existence, with every member of staff making sacrifices to see that the company comes out live will not have anyone looking workplace conflict as such because each would be at their battle station. They become one unit in the real sense of the word.
Examples Of Those That Have Laid Down Their Lives In The Line Of Duty
The military is a place of a history of valor. It is a place where people have done things that other hope they can emulate if the lot falls on them to do act in like manner. There is a tradition of greatness, a legacy of heroism within the military. This pales in comparison when it is viewed side by side with the issue of personality clashes.
This too can be replicated in your business. Make aspiration for greatness and higher reward something that is achievable. The more stories of people who were great deal makers and won big accounts, the stronger the sense of aspiration to be like those honored few. Personality clashes dies with the pursuit of lofty goals as that becomes what anything can be sacrificed for including one’s personal interest.
Little things like staff of the week, best staff gesture of the week etc is mini reflections of creating lofty goals that people aspire to especially when you attach a clearly visible reward system to it. People who win accounts should be celebrated visibly so that others will aspire to do the same. When these differences are clearly visible, others begin to look at the possibility of them becoming part of that lofty group, their chase of these lofty ideals will help in reducing personality clashes.
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Well Defined Responsibility Structure
The military can be detailed about what went wrong because they have a well-defined chain of command. They can say what, when, where and why things went wrong. This is hard to contrive because there is a definite system in place to know exactly where the bolt was lose and whose job it was to make sure it was in place. This adds to the reduction of workplace conflict with respect to personality clashes in the military because it may not be so difficult to find out who is in the wrong. Having a clearly defined responsibility structure keeps everyone on their toes. It would be hard for stories to be contrived because who overstepped might become clearly visible once the matter is looked into.
Personality clashes take the focus away from the organizational challenges and problems that should be addressed. They turn the attention to the individuals involved. It is a debilitating distraction because the problem and challenges facing the organization will not disappear. Rather it could continue growing while everybody concentrates on the clash of personalities. Companies have gone under for less.
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