No matter how great the culture of a firm, there will always be some workplace conflict and areas that can be improved upon and further developed. Some of those areas require tough conversations and confronting uncomfortable situations, but it’s in those tough and challenging moments that a strong culture can truly be established and advanced. It’s unavoidable; there will always be occasional conflicts or issues that arise amongst employees and even leaders of the firm. Whether they are personality issues, performance issues, or any number of other problems, every firm has to deal with them at one time or another. One of the most important parts of protecting and upholding a strong culture is to handle issues swiftly and directly before they turn into bigger problems.

It is so easy to sometimes just let something ride, or vent about it to a colleague without actually addressing the situation. But at the end of the day, these problems don’t go away when we do this - they compound into other problems until there is a glaring issue that has gotten so big that it is too uncomfortable to address. Getting to this point can create a whole mountain of other issues including growing frustrations by those involved, passive-aggressive behavior, possible termination of the offending employee, or the loss of a high performer of the firm who is affected by the continued behavior that has not been addressed.

The following are a few reminders for how to deal with situations as they arise instead of allowing them to get to this point:

Conflict Resolution - Address issues promptly and face-to-face

Often times a person does not know that they are doing something to upset someone, or that they are under-performing in an area, etc. A lot of times, simply bringing up the issue is enough to positively affect behavior. If it is a performance issue, you, as their supervisor, should sit down with them personally and address the problem. If it is a situation between colleagues, the colleague who is offended/upset, etc. should calmly sit down with the person who is upsetting them and explain why they are upset. Addressing the issue in person is a necessity – too many things (such as tone, for example) can be misconstrued via email and it doesn’t provide a forum for back-and-forth dialogue.

Give examples, and be as specific as you can

The more details you give, the better, so that there are no misunderstandings as to what exactly is not going the way it should be. Be direct. Often, people use words like “kind of” or “sometimes” to try to soften their communication. Try to avoid using these words if you can – they can lead to a lack of clarity as to what the person is really trying to say. As long as you are diplomatic and polite, you don’t need to add those softeners into your conversation.

Clarify the situation

Ask questions as to why the behavior is occurring, and how they can help be a part of the solution. Try to get them to propose a solution.

Conflict Resolution Strategies

Ask for a commitment from the person before wrapping up the conversation. In a more personal conversation, saying something like “can we agree to ________ in the future?” may go a long way. If it’s more performance-related, then something like “can you commit to doing ____ going forward?” may help. Again, the more specific, the better. Deadlines and dates are great, when appropriate for the conversation. Asking for a commitment upfront will help settle any related issues that arise in the future.

Address issues with the appropriate person

If you have an issue with Sally, don’t go to your friend and tell her about all the problems you’re having with Sally. If you legitimately have issues that are affecting your ability to work with Sally, then talk to Sally about them directly. If they aren’t important enough to talk to Sally about directly, then they are probably not worth stressing over, and certainly not worth gossiping about. If your issue is with someone in another department that rises above the level that you feel comfortable handling yourself, then make sure to talk to their supervisor about it. In short, talk to the person who can do something about it instead of stirring up chaos with others who don’t have control over the situation.

Guide others to address the problem effectively

If you find yourself in a conversation where someone is venting to you about someone else, be sympathetic, but do your best to guide them to address the problem they’re having directly using the tips above. Instead of just listening to their problem, drive to the solution. Ask them “have you talked to Sally directly about this?” Ask them, “what’s one thing you can do to help make this situation better?”

It’s easy to spend a lot of our professional lives focusing on negativity around us. But, life is too short to live each day with problems hanging over our heads that we can potentially solve if we would just address them as they arise – encourage yourself and those around you to drive to the solution.

The Culture Counts blog is a discussion of law firm culture and legal innovation, including topics such as effective leadership, employee engagement, workplace culture, ideal work environment, company core values, and workplace productivity.  The blog is published by Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm.  

 About the Firm:

Klemchuk LLP is a Dallas, Texas based litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm dedicated to protecting innovation. The firm provides tailored legal solutions to industries including software, technology, retail, real estate, consumer goods, ecommerce, telecommunications, restaurant, energy, media, and professional services. The firm focuses on serving mid-market companies seeking long-term, value-added relationships with a law firm.  Learn more about experiencing law practiced differently. 

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