The Leader in Referee Stripes

Get more than one person S on a staff and there will be competition. It's only natural and healthy, except when it causes unhealthy conflict. Then, goals become obscured, communication and cooperation become nonexistent. Once the battle is over, no one comes out the winner.

How you as a leader resolve the conflict determines whether or not it will permanently damage workers' personalities and productivity. The two most common ways of handling conflicts, interestingly enough, leave scars:

g 1. Choose one side over another. Your criteria may be entirely objective, but you're still asking for trouble. With the stakes i, set at all or nothing, staff •s! members aren't likely to it give up without a good, |i| long fight. And then, |c you'll have to force the loser to comply with your

i^ decision.

c 2. Negotiate. Although l; often praised as a fine art, 2s- sometimes compromise |s only produces losers. ^ There are other ways to 5j| lead and make everyone 's winners:

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