I Don't Like Conflict. Well Who Does?

• You lost a good staff member because they were sick of the poor performer getting away with murder so they left

• Mistakes kept costing you time, customers and money (real, potential or through rework)

• Morale within your team dropped and was replaced with frustration

So how's avoiding the 'conflict' really working for you?

It's not, is it?

When I coach small business owners and their teams to solve the problems costing them time and money, it usually hinges around....

• Lack or inappropriate communication

• Little or no documented systems about how we do things at Small Business XYZ.

And the people issues can be:

• Agreeing to or approving things when there is no authority to do so

• Promising to do something and never doing it ie all talk and no action

• Letting people get away with not doing everything that's required in their job

• Fixing mistakes instead of training the person about what to do next time

• Making only the fun or feel good decisions and forcing others to deal with the bad or uncomfortable ones because you don't want to

• Believing some positions are more important, and easier to do, than others

• Rewarding those who complain rather than those who work hard and get on with it.

But here's the real kicker.

All of these issues could've been prevented by firstly having documented systems, and then secondly, addressing any transgressions as soon as they occur rather than waiting for a better time (which is code for never because the thought pattern is 'if I leave it alone, it will resolve itself').

Which is sooo incorrect.

W Edwards Deming said, '94% of all failure is the fault of the system, not the people'.

When I dig deep into the problem and how it came about, the majority of communication and thus people problems could have been solved by documenting 3 key systems.

2. They make a CHOICE not to follow the approved and documented systems which is an immediate performance management conversation.