Don’t Ignore Conflict

Conflict is all around us everywhere.  Most of us deal with conflict of some form on a daily basis.   It is uncomfortable to talk about conflict and it is challenging for us to find ways to deal with it.   Conflict is primary, it is what I consider a fundamental function of our humanity.   Conflict rips and tears at people internally, externally, in small groups and large alike.   We are faced with it at every turn and it is hovers over us like a ghost.

It is something we deal with all the time but many people still seek to avoid it at all costs.

What is Conflict?

Conflicts are generally defined as relational disputes between two or more parties.
“The clashing of opposed principles” Oxford Dictionary

“Conflict is inevitable in organisational life but it need not have destructive consequences for the organisation (or work group). Depending on how the conflict is managed, the negative effects may be minimized, and positive effects may result from the conflict. Effective conflict management is based, in part, on a solid understanding of the different ways conflict emerges and can be resolved”. Organisational Behavior Hellreigel, Slocum and Woodman, 2001 Ninth Edition, South Western Thomson Learning, Singapore

Conflict in DT

Dion Hinchcliff is very effective at communicating important topics of digital today.   I enjoy learning though his perspective.  There is a very subtle arrow in the image below that I believe should be red, flashing and exploding.   It should have alarm bells going off and it should send you texts and emails, automatically set up doctors appointments, buy you lunch and set up a vacation for you.   Do you see it?

If you guessed this arrow,  you got it right.  Why is this the most important aspect of the picture?

This arrow represents an issue that will keep a CIO, CMO, their staff, husbands, wives, friends, children, cousins, best friends, etc engaged in all sorts of conflict management activities.    In the digital age, we take work with us everywhere we go.  We are on and connected and this arrow represents an internal conflict that is happening across companies globally.

This reminds me of a discussion I had with a C-Level coach concerning the challenges of a Global CIO.

Pulling it Together

If the C-level seeks to avoid conflict or create internal war conditions,  it is costly to everyone in the company.  In previous blog posts, I talk about having courage and taking risks around communication.  This is exactly the place where having courage matters.   Avoiding conflict makes organizations and people sick.  It causes micro-aggression and internal silo wars.     There should be strategic and operational investments in conflict management as part of Digital Transformation.   Digital Workplace, Employee Experience and Productivity are very important but beyond the user experience there are human factors that are cognitive, physical and social.   Addressing these as part of change management activities and transformation will create healthier and more successful companies.

The Hardest Post

Normally, I am not at a loss for words but today I am.   Last week I didn’t write because I was visiting a friend out of town.   We discussed the differences between leadership and management.   We started talking about work and the difficulties in dealing with people along with the challenges of tight budgets and schedules.    He started to describe his situation and the specific challenges he faces with his manager.   He described his manager as a micro-manager,  the manager wants to know where my friend is at all times and what he is working on task by task.  I mentioned that in some cases that behavior is fairly common and that my friend (let us call him “B”) should work on communication and building trust.

As his story continued,  I was faced with one of the most shocking and egregious  acts of a manager I have ever heard.   It left me stunned for a few days.   I struggled with writing about it as well.

The following story includes a video,  I am warning you that if you are highly sensitive to anything that has to do with the holocaust,  do not read on and do not watch the video.  

B was called into the office by his manager.   His manager started by discussing performance.    He told B that he has to meet the deadlines and quotas set and that there are consequences for failure to meet the timelines.   He pulled up this video on YouTube

B explained that it was hard for him to even listen to or pay attention to what his manager said next.  He couldn’t rationalize why he was shown this video and he has been haunted ever since he watched it.    B also explained that he had a co-worker who is Jewish that experienced the same thing with this manager.

Both B and is co-worker are still working for this manager and are afraid to report him.

Having Courage

I personally can’t shake it either.  I watched this movie when it was made back in 1993 and I had a story that went along with the movie myself.   I was still active duty Navy and one of my best friends was from a small town in California.  A few of us got an apartment out in town and we lived together on and off the ship.   One day, I was washing dishes and Jason (my friend) came up behind me and drew something on my neck with a magic marker.   We always would mess with each other in good fun but this time, it had an impact.  I yelled at him and ran over to the mirror only to find it was a swastika.  I felt as if the world stopped for a moment.  I had experienced people drawing swastikas on my sheets and putting on equipment in the navy but most of the people that did this were from small southern towns with no experience of knowing or being around Jews.    I am not defending them; they grew up thinking that the swastika is a symbol of “brotherly love” as I was told back then in 1992.    This was different.  He was one of my best friends and he came from California.  I couldn’t process how he could even think this was remotely funny.   The moment of silence came over both of us and he looked at me realizing that what he did had a serious impact.   I couldn’t get the damn think off of me and I couldn’t even see what the hell I was scrubbing.  I was flustered.    I didn’t know exactly what Schindler’s list was about specifically but I knew it had to do with the holocaust.   That night,  I asked him if I could take him to the movies.     Jason and I went to the theater and sat through the movie.   If you haven’t seen it, there are scenes with a little girl and a bit of color.  Jason was over whelmed with tears and emotion.  I can remember how that felt like it was yesterday.  He looked at me and said “I am so sorry,  I understand now.”    Jason was a shipmate and a brother that would put his life at risk for me and me for him.   It was ignorance and a clear lack of understanding that drove us to that place.

I hadn’t watched this movie or seen parts of it since.

I offered advice to B in the form of standing up and taking action.  I offered him ideas on presenting this situation to his leadership and Human Resources.   He is still in fear for his job and I don’t know if he will do anything about it.    His manager has a laundry list of things that I consider “bad behavior” but this was the worst.

It is easy to say to someone that they “should” have courage in the face of adversity.  It is easy to say for someone to stand up for your beliefs.   Having courage means that he would have to take that risk.    I sure hope he does because this world has enough hate in it.

What would you have offered as advice to B?

Thanks for reading..  I am out of words on this one…

Just One Thing

Things are tough.   People don’t listen, and  you can’t influence everyone.  We need advocates in our lives to make a difference or at least we believe that we do.   It can be depressing and it is a challenge.   Everyone on this planet is faced with some adversity, it is a part of our humanity.   We are all faced with life, death and the stuff that happens in between.

I was talking to a good friend a few days ago, he was telling me that a 30 year old cousin of his had a heart attack and died immediately.    It was an unexpected event and this young adult had plans of getting out of the corporate life and doing something different with his life.    He wanted to leave a legacy.    My older friends talk a lot about legacy.  They talk about leaving something behind that is of value.   There are many people that work hard and attain wealth and status but still feel they have something they need to do.   They have a strong desire to do something good and leave a legacy.

We can talk about religion and G-d and all of the philosophical aspects of life and legacy but my sense is that we have to think more about now.   I don’t think that we should wait to make a difference.   We should make a difference right now.   We should focus on what we can do on a daily basis as we make choices.   We should make it part of our awareness and activity.    For me,  I answer emails and phone calls that other people consider a waste of time.  I take meetings with people that others would not.   I speak to people often and I listen as much as possible to give them time to tell their story. This isn’t a perfect scientific formula.   It is simply making the time and taking the time to be aware.   It is taking the extra effort to help someone when you can choose to do something else.   It is making a phone call to make an introduction.   It is meeting with a young person looking towards a career.   It is volunteering for something.   It also can be paying attention to someone.

Many times,  people only pay attention to others they believe have some value.   Everyone has value.  Just because I am not aware of this at the time doesn’t mean I should ignore them.

I am not saying this to lecture you or even tell you something that you already know.   The reason I am saying this is because today is a gift, it isn’t a promise to you or anyone else.   We live in a complicated world of distraction.    We are distracted and we wake up and days, weeks and months pass.   We are distracted and focused on success.   Success being .. whatever you define it.   I am thinking to remind you that we are a few generations from being forgotten.   Think about your great great grandparents for a moment, you may not even know their names.    Your name may be forgotten as well.  The actions we take and the legacy we leave may not be tied to our names.   It very well may be something we inspire someone else to do.   It may be a lesson that you teach.  It may be an act of caring and kindness that changes or saves a life.   It may be a simple thing like holding a door for a person and having a child witness it.    It can be many things but you have to make a choice in the moment to act and to care.   You have to make a choice to make a difference and you have to be aware.

Think about this and how you can do one thing to make a difference.  Just try it out and see what happens.   I would be happy to listen or read your stories..

The Basics

From a leadership perspective,  a KM lead needs to have the ability to execute.   Knowledge Management efforts are fundamentally about change.    Practically speaking, it is impossible to change anything without a clear vision and mission.  Knowledge Management should be part of the organizational DNA, not something we deliver but something we are.

In order to lead KM,  we need to understand the needs of the people and the needs of the business.   Today, we talk about Knowledge Management in terms of mobility or concepts related to “Digital.”    Fundamentally,  KM in motion is about the ability of an organization including its workforce to execute.   In order to accomplish large organizational goals and smaller individual goals,  people need data, information, knowledge and the ability to share it and collaborate in a way that is comfortable to them individually.

Every organization is different and in my experience the very basic building blocks are

• Trust
• Integrity
• Respect

People leading KM or seeking to empower employees must have a seat at the table with senior leadership.   There have been many times that I had to “Seniorsplain” information to teams.   The differences between word of mouth and formal communications can have a dramatic impact on the workforce.

A few years ago, my team and I were just getting started in implementing a KM practice.  My team was learning a lot about KM itself and I was learning about the business.  I went out and interviewed leadership and my team started to meet with groups and talk about what KM more broadly.   We were met with resistance on almost all of the first meetings.   It took multiple meetings and clear messages from leadership for people to start to believe.   The Global CIO had discussions with his directs and they had discussions with their teams.    I met with all of them and we discussed ways to enhance, improve and optimize their individual areas without disruption.   The key factor was to add value without disruption.  Still many people didn’t believe me on the first handshake and I needed to continue to work with them to show proof.   It was a combination of proving value, building trusted relationships, showing up and being consistent that started to turn things in our favor.   Our CIO was willing to learn and he took some risks himself by advancing KM concepts and sharing these with his teams.

We spent a lot of time communicating, testing, learning, assessing and re-applying concepts.   Where we met resistance we either worked it out or moved on to leaders and teams that were more open minded.   Our practices were consistent,  we spent a lot of time learning and sharing and we added value by raising awareness across the organization and bringing teams together.

Organizational intelligence and ability is the essential lifeblood of any company.  It is often overlooked in practice but given a lot of lip service.  When an organization is charged and committed to KM, employees across the organization are aware of it.  It is much more difficult in large organizations and there is a misinterpretation or natural substitution of digital technologies as opposed to engagement.   This is further complicated by advances and changes in technologies and business itself.

Leading Knowledge Management takes patience, a strong desire to learn, a love of people, understanding, courage to speak to leadership, and courage to take risk.   If leaders don’t trust you, the teams won’t trust you.   If the teams don’t trust,  leaders will lose trust in you.

Organizational and leadership commitment, clear communications followed by associated consistent actions, and the ability to do what you need to do (including taking some risk), is how you lead Knowledge Management.

Note: Vinegar Tasters 

The image represents three different perspectives through an activity of tasting vinegar.  See more http://www.taoism.net/sanctuary/books/vintaste.htm.   Knowledge Management does not prescribe to a specific perspective but it seeks to illuminate and raise awareness holistically.