Workplace Conflict Resolution: Christian Muntean Of Vantage Consulting On How Team Leaders Can Create The Right Environment To Resolve Conflicts
An Interview With Eric Pines
Be consistent. Identify and address issues early. Your efforts will pay off both in terms of the bottom line and in the overall sense of satisfaction at work.
An important component of leadership is conflict resolution. Why is conflict resolution so important? How can leaders effectively incorporate conflict resolution into their work culture? In this interview series called “Workplace Conflict Resolution: How Team Leaders Can Create The Right Environment To Resolve Conflicts,” we are talking to business leaders who can share insights and anecdotes from their experience about how to implement Conflict Resolution at work. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Christian Muntean.
Christian Muntean specializes in helping leaders build high-performance and high-value businesses. He often works with leaders facing dynamic transitions such as successions, exits, acquisitions or mergers. He has authored two books: The Successful New CEO and Conflict and Leadership. Christian is often a featured guest on podcasts and contributes to national publications. He lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with his wife and three children. In his free time, he enjoys woodworking and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
That isn’t easy to narrow down! Early in my career, I flew to Panama to provide a week of leadership and conflict resolution training. In a last-minute decision, my hosts altered the agenda. They decided that before we started the training, they’d send me deep into the jungle to address a local tribe that was facing a serious conflict.
After an all-night bus trip, I found myself bouncing up a mountain road in the back of an open pick-up. Next to me was seated the former Minister of Indigenous Affairs for Panama. He was heading to the same meeting. We hit it off, and it turned out he had once been a guest in my wife’s community in Alaska (She is half Inupiaq.) We knew some of the same people.
The meeting was long. Most of it was conducted in the local language. I couldn’t understand what was being discussed. Honestly, I didn’t feel I should be there and hoped that I would be forgotten. But, late in the afternoon, I noticed that everyone had stopped talking and was staring at me. The chief indicated that I should speak.
I stood up and, through a translator, acknowledged that I didn’t have the answers for the issue they faced. But I offered a few core principles related to negotiation and conflict resolution. I knew those principles should help them find the answers. Some of those principles had successfully guided the tribes in my wife’s community to address a similar situation. I was followed by the former Minister who, surprising to me, based his comments on his experience in my wife’s community. The tribe’s issue was larger than what could be resolved in that day. But it was satisfying (and a relief!) to find that I was on the same page as the former Minister. At the time, I was relatively new in this space. The experience reaffirmed the power of principles even when specifics change.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
I’m often struck by the quote, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” My first instinct isn’t always to “be kind”. I have to remind myself to do that.
My conversations with clients often remind me of the need to be kind. I primarily work with successful, driven, high achievers. From the outside, most seem very well put together and accomplished. They may have forceful personalities and are often used to getting their way. But I’ve learned that many wrestle with difficulties such as an issue with their health, their marriage, a child or their company. It’s helpful to be mindful that just because I can’t see the battle doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I’m in solo practice. My company is me. One differentiator is the relationships I build with my clients. I’m sometimes surprised to discover that I’m one of the first to learn about their significant life events — such as the birth of a child or the death of loved one. There is often a lot of trust and connection that is built.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Perseverance: I’ve been in practice for about 20 years. For the first twelve, I had no idea how to run the business side of consulting successfully. (Many solo or boutique consultants are in that boat.) But I knew this was what I wanted to do. I just kept at it until I figured it out. Perseverance is also required in my work. Significant change rarely occurs quickly. It often takes time and steadiness.
Curiosity: I’m curious about a lot of things and love learning. My clients and their situations fascinate me. Each year I feel like I earn a new degree in “what I didn’t know before.” As a professional “expert,” I think it’s helpful to stay curious. It promotes humility and helps me avoid the trap of always advising. Sometimes it’s better to learn.
Courage: It takes courage to do this work well. For most of my life, I was a perfectionist. This is another way of saying, “I was afraid to make mistakes.” That fear was crippling. My most significant breakthroughs are nearly all tied to learning to take risks, to developing a tolerance for “less than perfect,” and pushing myself. It can take courage to wade into the emotion of a conflict or confront a leader or client when needed.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?
The hardest choice may be being willing to engage appropriately in confrontation. Confrontation never feels good initially. It doesn’t matter if I need to confront someone or I’m being confronted. But there is a strong tendency to avoid issues, get defensive, or attack. The ability to respectfully offer or receive confrontation is a choice I have to keep coming back to. It never feels like an instinct to me. I have to choose it and hold myself in that place.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s start with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. What does Conflict Resolution mean?
A conflict is resolved when there has been enough improvement in the situation that the parties involved can move on from the issue. The conflict has been sustainably resolved when it doesn’t repeat itself in some fashion or generate new conflicts. Ideally, something has been strengthened or improved because of the resolution process.
What are some common misunderstandings about Conflict Resolution that are important to clear up?
There are two common misunderstandings:
- The assumption that conflict is bad or wrong.
- That conflict within the workplace is mostly about interpersonal dynamics.
On the first point, conflict is natural. It is unrealistic to expect people to see, understand or value things the same way. As opposed to viewing conflict as “wrong,” it is more helpful to see it as an opportunity for growth personally, relationally, culturally, and systemically. (I’m using “systems” as a catch-all term that includes policies, processes, procedures and structures.)
This leads to the second point. Most books and trainings focus on the interpersonal dynamics of conflict. The reality is that most workplace disputes are generated or maintained by an issue within the organizational culture or systems.
In my experience, most (perhaps 70%-80%) of workplace disputes can be resolved by identifying and addressing the cultural or systemic drivers. Resolving those well translates into higher organizational performance. It’s also easier and more sustainable than trying to make people get along with each other over the long haul. Conflict creates the opportunity. It helps highlight issues that should be addressed and provides the energy which supports action.
A story of when I first discovered this princip illustrates my point: 2001, I worked in Kosovo as part of the post-war reconstruction effort. One of my assignments was to start a couple of therapeutic preschools. One class frequently had behavioral problems. At first, I helped the teachers explore redirection or disciplinary strategies. But nothing felt quite right.
Then we noticed something…the kids were well-behaved until playtime. The fighting would start as soon as the teachers took the toys out. Because this school was in an impoverished community, we suspected many of these children might not have toys. The stimulus around them may have just been too strong to handle. Of all the goals the teachers had to pursue in the class, addressing this behavior was only a distraction.
So, we experimented. Instead of addressing the problem behavior, we removed the toys from the class. We didn’t say anything about it. For playtime, the teachers organized group games instead. Games like “Duck, Duck, Goose.” The kids loved it. The teachers were happy. The children still got to play, and the teachers could pursue their goals. A simple change in the environment sidestepped the issue, completely removed the conflict, and allowed us to focus on our priorities. It was easy and had immediate and sustained results. This is an example of what I lump under “systems” change. We change a component of the playtime system. That change generated different results.
This might be intuitive to you, but it will be helpful to clearly express this. Can you please explain why it is so important for leaders to learn and deploy conflict resolution techniques?
Conflict incurs a heavy cost. Most of those costs are not clear in your profit and loss statements. But they are part of your bottom line.
Many studies estimate that roughly 20% of the average manager’s time is absorbed addressing conflict. That’s one day a week or nearly two and a half months of payroll costs dedicated to conflict. That’s just the single manager’s time. It doesn’t consider anyone else’s time, time lost due to distraction, lower productivity, opportunity costs or other costs — such as concessions, settlements and so on.
That’s a significant cost if simple resolution is all that is pursued, However, that cost becomes a high-return investment if people grow, relationships are strengthened, a culture matures and systems are improved.
Most resolution efforts don’t drive for this deeper level change. They typically settle for getting past the emotion of the moment and getting people back to work. But the ones that go deeper ultimately impact the bottom line as well as improve turnover rates, employee morale, productivity and so on.
On the flip side, what happens to a work culture when there is not an effective way of resolving conflict? How does it impact employees?
One of two things tends to happen. Most cultures tend towards conflict avoidance. They ignore problems and hope they’ll go away. This means issues aren’t addressed and problems can’t be solved. This will create costs. Hidden or otherwise. When I see issues such as silos, “not my job” tendencies, a lack of accountability or turnover issues, I know the company doesn’t deal with conflict well. Even if everyone is very nice and polite.
Some workplace cultures will trend towards aggressive conflict. In these environments, conflicts are viewed as something that can only either be “won” or “lost.” The goal tends to become to attempt to “win” all the arguments. The more powerful or assertive individuals are often more likely to “win.” But this undermines collaboration and communication, shuts down people with less power or assertive personalities, and prevents growth.
Can you provide examples of how effective conflict resolution has led to increased team performance, collaboration, or innovation within your organization?
For sure. And sometimes it is very simple. One client of mine grew his company from about $220M to $300M within a year. This was during 2020. During COVID.
There was a lot behind that growth. But part of what we worked on was how he related to conflict. He since often told be that our work around conflict was one of his major growth areas during that year. And his growth support organizational growth. In his case, learning to address issues early as opposed to waiting until he was so frustrated he couldn’t handle it was important. Also, being willing to ask questions (and listen to the answers) as opposed to jumping to conclusions were key. Simple principles. Not always easy to put into practice.
Another client needed a quick turnaround. They had a culture of conflict avoidance — which translated into a lack of internal accountability. It had been losing money for years and were at risk of being sold or liquidated. We began to address their culture of avoiding accountability as well as poor communication patterns. Some of this translated into the introduction of new management processes. A five-year decline was reversed within five months. They’ve maintained growth and profitability in the years since.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “Five Ways Every Team Leader Can Create The Right Environment To Resolve Conflicts”? If you can, please share specific examples of a workplace conflict you’ve encountered, and how you applied conflict resolution techniques to address it.
1 . Model ideal values. The two that emerge time and again are Trust and Respect. When leaders model both being trusting and trustworthy as well as being respectful and respectable, others will tend to follow suit.
2 . Use the four opportunities of conflict: Look at conflict through the lenses of Personal growth, Relational growth, Cultural growth and Systemic growth. It will help you better diagnose the drivers. It will lead to building a healthier organization.
3 . Clearly define expectations, roles and responsibilities. Ambiguity breeds conflict. One of the most common sources of conflict is a lack of clarity regarding expectations. Improvements here will improve all kinds of downstream issues.
4 . Become comfortable with both grace and making amends. People make mistakes and sometimes need to be given chances. At the same time, it is important and valuable for people to learn to make things right with each other.
5 . Be consistent. Identify and address issues early. Your efforts will pay off both in terms of the bottom line and in the overall sense of satisfaction at work.
In your experience, what are the most common sources of conflict within a team, and how do you proactively address these potential issues before they escalate?
There are three:
- A lack of clarity regarding expectations, roles and responsibilities is one of the most common. The solution is to quickly identify if this is the case and then clarify what is needed.
- Issues with trust and/or respect in the organizational culture. This includes issues related to extending trust and respect to others or acting in ways that engender both from others. If leaders struggle in these areas, there will be conflict. That conflict will keep flaring up until the trust or respect issues are resolved. This kind of personal growth typically benefits from coaching or counseling. Training probably won’t help.
- Not holding others accountable. This is a major source of conflict. The leader or manager needs to step up and ensure that team members are following through on responsibilities and maintaining standards. Similarly, leaders need to model personal accountability and follow-through.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Consider not only our own interests but also the interests of others in our decisions and actions. If leaders were consistent and intentional about this it would address many issues.
How can our readers further follow you online? My website is the best way: www.christianmuntean.com You can access my blog, tons of free resources and an opportunity to sign up for a weekly article on leadership.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
Workplace Conflict Resolution: Christian Muntean Of Vantage Consulting On How Team Leaders Can… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.