{"id":28830,"date":"2024-11-06T03:50:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T08:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/blog\/why-becoming-curious-about-conflict-is-good-for-business\/"},"modified":"2024-11-06T03:50:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T08:50:23","slug":"why-becoming-curious-about-conflict-is-good-for-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/blog\/why-becoming-curious-about-conflict-is-good-for-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Becoming Curious about Conflict is Good for Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neurodiversity means we all think, behave, and respond differently. Recognizing the benefits of different perspectives and approaches is essential to making better decisions. But differences can lead to conflict, so how do you manage that?<\/span><\/p>\n

Neurodiverse Conflict Is Good Conflict<\/span><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, when you think of \u201cconflict,\u201d you probably relate it to a terrible experience. The word doesn\u2019t exactly feel positive or energizing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take that heated argument where you were shouted down. The meeting where you were belittled in front of your peers. Even your child\u2019s tantrum that caused you to yell back. Conflict is distressing for both parties, even if it\u2019s short lived.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, just imagine for a moment your emotional response isn\u2019t fleeting. Instead, you feel like you\u2019ve been in conflict your whole life. Your ideas are always described as \u201cdifferent;\u201d your explanations seem to vary from \u201cthe norm;\u201d and you\u2019re regularly on edge about saying the \u201cwrong\u201d thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder some people would rather just avoid potential conflict by saying nothing at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating Psychological Safety<\/span><\/h2>\n

When you engage that curious coaching mind, you actively acknowledge there isn\u2019t \u201cone best way.\u201d You encourage people to freely share their thoughts (\u201cwhat more can you say about that?\u201d) so they identify opportunities or risks because you\u2019ve created a judgement-free, psychologically safe environment. And you openly adopt an approach in which sharing ideas and recognizing differences are both celebrated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stick with the alternative; however, you end up with a room of \u201cyes\u201d people who are afraid to challenge the status quo.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Does Neurodiversity Look Like in Practice?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s say the chief executive officer (CEO) never writes anything down. Instead, walking and talking is her preference. So, she chats with her chief operations officer (COO) as they both meander through the busy office and back to their desks.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the background, the phones are going and the photocopiers chugging away. A small group are loudly chatting about last night\u2019s football. And there\u2019s a fluorescent light at the far right-hand side of the office that\u2019s buzzing and flickering.<\/span><\/p>\n

The CEO\u2019s fine. She\u2019s chatting away, getting stuff out of her head and, in her mind, onto her COO\u2019s to-do list. But he\u2019s struggling to concentrate.<\/span><\/p>\n

His heart rate\u2019s rising as the stress increases. He\u2019s trying so hard to focus. But there\u2019s the noise, the football, the light. It\u2019s impossible to hear everything the CEO says, let alone act on it later.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a recipe for future conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Does Coaching Help?<\/span><\/h2>\n

When a company\u2019s culture encourages openness and thrives on sharing, people more willingly advocate for their needs and preferences. During coaching, the COO raises that it\u2019s hard to take things in while walking and talking. He does much better when they sit somewhere quieter where he can write notes. You ask, \u201cWhat could you do about that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He says he knows the CEO doesn\u2019t need to be walking through the office, but she does need to be away from her desk to do her best thinking. Through coaching, the COO identifies a way he can comfortably speak up about his needs. He knows the CEO values his input but also recognizes he needs a different approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through coaching, he decides he does want to do something about this, and he\u2019s committed to the action. He and the CEO reach a compromise:\u00a0 They go to a large meeting room.<\/span><\/p>\n

She can still wander about, but he writes notes as they talk. It lets him review key points and ask questions. And, importantly, this allows both parties to thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating a neuroinclusive environment isn\u2019t about the traditional view of conflict where one person\u2019s right and the other is wrong. Instead, you cultivate a workplace where differences in communication and learning styles are no longer an obstacle. They\u2019re a way to secure success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being Neuroinclusive Improves Culture<\/span><\/h2>\n

Businesses that embrace a coaching approach around neurodiversity see improvements in innovation because different perspectives offer insights they haven\u2019t considered before. They benefit from an inclusive culture which values individuals for their own contribution and looks to maximize their potential without the risk of burnout.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bottom line, getting curious (\u201cwhat do you mean by that?\u201d) and having a neuroinclusive approach to business helps people feel heard. And there are hundreds of studies on the importance of <\/span>feeling valued<\/span><\/a> and improved business performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, if you want to get the best out of your people, actively look for differences. Celebrate them, promote them, and thrive on the idea that there is no \u201cone best way.\u201d Instead, revel in the myriad of options that different thinkers present.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neurodiversity means we all think, behave, and respond differently. Recognizing the benefits…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Learning from Conflict: How Getting Curious is Good for Business","_seopress_titles_desc":"Explore how curiosity about conflict fosters business success through better communication, reduced stress, and innovation.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"audience-type":[119,122],"display-option":[],"post-type":[128],"topic":[59,78],"_person-tax":[1882],"class_list":{"0":"post-28830","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"audience-type-hr-organizational-leaders","8":"audience-type-managers-leaders-using-coaching","9":"post-type-blog","10":"topic-coaching-in-organizations","11":"topic-coaching-skills-for-leaders","12":"_person-tax-1882","13":"not-partnership-post","19":"_person-tax-27786","20":"has-featured-image"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"audience-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience-type?post=28830"},{"taxonomy":"display-option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display-option?post=28830"},{"taxonomy":"post-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-type?post=28830"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=28830"},{"taxonomy":"_person-tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coachingfederation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_person-tax?post=28830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}