Tips For Resolving Conflict in Business Relationships

—

When building a profitable practice, as we discussed before, it’s very important to engage in conflict resolution. You must be a pro at resolving conflict in your business relationships. No matter how much you like your business partner, at some point conflict is likely to happen. While most conflicts are fairly small — like trying to decide what color you want in your brand colors — left unattended, a conflict can fester and grow. That’s why resolving conflict before they have a chance to take on a life of their own, is so important in your business relationship. You may ask yourself, “How do I go about doing that?”

Here are some of the top tips for resolving conflict in your business relationships:

1. Start by listening. Don’t just listen to the spoken words, but the feelings behind them, as well. It’s the emotions that drive the conversation, after all. By listening actively — meaning pausing to ask questions, clarify, and to reiterate what you think the other person is saying — you’ll tell the other person that what they have to say matters. But more importantly, you’re letting them know that they’re being heard.

2. Look for the resolution over being right. Giving up the notion that you have to win is where you start seeing the solutions. Conflict is never a competition. Set your ego aside and remember what the goal is. Then, redirect your focus to reaching it in the most positive, productive way possible.

3. Stay in the moment. Instead of focusing on what happened that brought you to this conflict, pay attention to what’s going on right now. Now isn’t the time for blame, rather than looking for solutions. Again, remind yourself of the goal and end result and determine how you and your business partner can achieve it together.

4. Decide what’s important right now. That is called picking your battles. And it is important in determining whether a thing is worth fighting over. Ask yourself if this is just an issue over a minor annoyance that will be easily forgotten, or if you have something deeper going on that maybe needs to be addressed.

5. Know how and when to disengage. This means being able to do what it takes to walk away. It might be that forgiveness is in order. It might be that you’re just going to need to agree to disagree. Worst case scenario, it might be time to just let the matter go entirely. Whatever the case, there is nothing to be gained by staying in the conflict.

Resolving conflicts isn’t a hard skill to learn. By following these tips, you will discover how to better deal with conflict in every kind of relationship, business or personal. So, take heart, a misunderstanding doesn’t have to mean the end of the world. Instead, look at your conflict as a step toward a better understanding that will in turn lead to better business relationships in the long run.

—

Without proper conflict resolution, a simple disagreement can potentially ruin any relationship. Check out our blog post here for tips on preventing disagreements from ruining your relationships.

—

I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/contractnegotiations to pick up the free guide to help you negotiate the contract of your dreams.

—

Attention, Physiatrists! Stop leaving money on the table. Sign up for the free video series: How To Build A Profitable Practice in 90 Days or Less: http://www.sixtytosuccess.com