Posts

Showing posts from October, 2014

Managing Conflict in the Workplace

by: Cara Griffin-Locker, IMH We all have a desire and need for a sense o f control.   Having control gives us power and helps us predict and manage events in the world around us. However, the need and desire for control can be unsatisfying and eventually lead us to conflict with others. This is especially common in the workplace. How does one get control? They take it, makes decisions and then start to give commands. This is usually when conflict arises. Conflict occurs when others also seek control and the result is often a vicious cycle of fighting for power.   Ultimately, the greater the desire to control, the greater the fear of losing it. Unless we live as a hermit we cannot do everything ourselves. So how do we manage control conflicts in the workplace? Here are some helpful tips that you can utilize when faced with obstacles that create dilemmas. 1)       Define acceptable behavior- Having a definition of what constitutes acceptable behavior is a positive step in avoidin

The 4 Rules of Fair Fighting: How to Work Things Out

By Matt W. Sandford, LMHC Do all couples fight? Over the years I’ve certainly seen plenty that do, and I’ve also have seen a fair share who claim they don’t or that they never saw their parents fight. It’s my proposition that pretty much all couples fight. I would wager that those who claim they don’t fight either are using a style called withdraw or alimentation as their form of fighting, or they don’t have enough of a relationship to even bother to fight. You see, fighting in marriage may be really bad stuff and may represent a road to the end – divorce is on its way. But , fighting in marriage may also represent two people who are really different, living in a fallen world, trying to get their needs met, express themselves and make their marriage work, all while under stress. What if a lot of fighting in marriage isn’t really bad, it’s just badly managed? What if often we aren’t really trying to be a jerk or bitch and we don’t hate the other person, but instead we are