Time for a Shrink?

WORKING in close proximity, business partners are often prone to conflicts. Here are some HR solutions to resolve such conflicts.

An e-mail transcript between two Vice Presidents in a reputed organisation:

Respected Madam,

This is with regard to the decision taken in the executive meeting about our tie-up with Utilitypro Corp...

Thanks and regards.

Vice-President B

The reply to this was as follows:

Respected Madam,

I do concur with your opinion about our tie-up with Utilitypro Corp. Nevertheless...

Thanks and regards.

Vice-President A

In the cafeteria:

Though Vice-President A and B are in the cafeteria at the same time, they refrain from any interaction whatsoever! Forget about polite banter, they even avoid eye contact. The tension between them is palpable and employees who interact with them become acutely aware of the cold war between them.

This is not fiction. A real-life case, where two managers of a reputed organisation (names with held upon request) were at loggerheads and the rapport they built over years of association followed a downhill trend. According to the secretary of Vice President B, ``They stopped talking and communicated only through e-mails. Neither wanted to make the first move, but they did realise that things could not continue this way.''

The Vice-President HR, realised the problem needed tactful handling. He called in Swapna Rajurkar, a psychotherapist specialising in business therapy, trained to conduct emotional exercises on problem solving to get people to understand and communicate well with each other. Swapna had started out as a marriage counsellor. She says, ``There isn't much difference between counselling couples and business associates''.

Swapna's modus operandi is very simple. She makes people listen and talk to each other in a positive way. The feuding executives were led to a neutral environment, away from office pressures and persuaded to talk. She prodded them to share ideas and essentially, served as a moderator.

Swapna innocuously included comments such as, ``Is it fair to say you have trouble accepting suggestions from others?'' ``How would that sound to someone from outside the organisation?'' This mode of controlling conversation helped the VPs introspect, and resulted in a positive response. The two managers were provoked into resolving their problems through an open discussion. For instance, they recognised their functioning styles as natural breeding grounds for conflict.

The counselling sessions lasted for several weeks. Finally, both the executives were back on track, talking face-to-face and not sending e- mails.

Vice-president B was a `thinker' who took her time about things, while Vice President A was a mover-shaker, who wanted things accomplished immediately. With the help of Swapna, both of them learned to work together and even enjoyed each other's company thereafter. Vice President B learned to visualise her role and set her priorities right. Vice President A slowed down considerably and started planning and strategising.

Business associations like some marriages, get stale after a period of time. Years of sloughing together and burning the midnight oil push executives to develop strong bonds. They share the same vision and goals, but seemingly silly misunderstandings may escalate into a full-scale feud. Once a wedge is driven into a relationship, it does not take much time for it to fall apart. Trying to handle the feud in a professional manner might bring in a temporary truce. Having a trained counsellor, who has a thorough understanding of the inner workings of the company, could be a better option. Though counselling is a new concept in India, American and European organisations have been advocating the use of full-time resident counsellors for conflict resolution.

Signs that indicate a conflict brewing and HR intervention:

1. Preferring to go elsewhere rather than report at the workplace for an important meeting.

2. Conducting business without consulting the other.

3. Avoiding face-to-face interactions.

4. Treating the other as an irresponsible person.

When working in close proximity in an intense and stressful environment, feelings of hurt and misunderstanding invariably develop. This results in high levels of tension, compulsive behaviour, absenteeism, communication breakdown and other behavioural anomalies. To combat this, employing full-time resident counsellors to help employees cope with stress and thereby let the organisations function smoothly is therefore advisable.

NAYANA CHEKKA

nayana.hyd@careercommunity.co.in