As a wife and mother of four, it has been incredibly challenging and rewarding to have a 30+ year career building, selling, buying, owning, and even closing businesses. In the process, I learned a lot of lessons. I work to bring those lessons into my consulting, coaching, writing, and speaking, and love how this community allows us to learn from each other. Disagreements are inevitable in business relationships, but how we handle them determines the outcome.
My twins came with me to work when they were small, and I carried my younger two into businesses in their car carriers many times. This made me realize that women have been “working” outside the home and “inside” the home for more of the history of the world than not, and I began to think of ways to support moms in every aspect of their journey in life and business. I also started to see the number of people who had disagreements that negatively impacted their working relationships.
The last decade of my career has been as a Human Resources and Learning and Development professional focused on building cultures and leadership development programs to attract, engage, empower, and retain the people needed to achieve business objectives. Through those experiences, my goal was always to create an environment for people to do their best work and enjoy the benefits of the process – as well as – enjoy the amazing teammates who become friends and family through the hours spent working together.
Throughout the years of handling personnel issues, performance reviews, leadership coaching, employee awards, and organizational wins, I noticed a few themes popping up during adversity that strained business relationships. Yes, people disagree at work, a LOT.
When people had disagreements at work and were not prepared to handle them, the destruction had far-reaching repercussions that boggled my mind and heart. I searched for additional resources, training, organizational structures, and other assets to help minimize the damage in these disagreements, as well as, help leaders and teams prepare to avoid as many destructive interactions as possible.
In the midst of all of this work over the past 30 years, I also had my own “less-than-optimal” work-relationship challenges. Those hurt the most AND taught me the most.
Now I apply and teach the things I learned, along with resources I’ve created when I consult and train individuals and teams. Use these three steps to start to develop stronger relationships within your teams.
3 Steps to Handle Disagreements
Step 1:
Learn how to be a peacemaker. Being a peacemaker is a top skill for any executive and any mom. It does not mean you do not challenge assumptions and fix problems. It means you place a high value on personal, team, and organizational peace. You know that peace brings joy and productivity. When there is peace, you can disagree and stay united.
Step 2:
Listen to others' points of view. Division destroys the mind, the home, and the workplace. How do you start becoming a better peacemaker? Study peace and listen to what others have to say.
Step 3:
Believe the best in others. When you commit to believing the best, you will avoid many of the traps that cause division through the storytelling in our own minds. You will see more of what is right with people than what is wrong, whether it is at work, at home, and in your community.
I continue to make my own mistakes, but I do make fewer. And, I have a better idea of how to navigate the situations when they come up.
My latest book G.L.U.E. – A leadership development strategy to bond and unite, tells the story of two women in business together who have a disruption in their relationship and what they do to reestablish an even stronger bond. Using faith-based principles, I combine my human resources and leadership development background to help others become the leader they were created to be and become better at avoiding and resolving disputes.
G.L.U.E. is available for pre-order @ https://amzn.to/3GDHI03
Launch date: 2/9/2022
To receive G.L.U.E.'s companion personal development resource, email the receipt to leadership@amypkelly.com
Revel Coach Spotlight Member Amy P. Kelly believes in people and helps them grow. The “P” in her name stands for the middle name she received from her grandmother Pauline and symbolizes the power on the inside of each person to fulfill their purpose. Amy is the Vice President of Consulting for The Jon Gordon Companies and co-author of "The Energy Bus Field Guide" a roadmap to fueling your life, work, and team with positive energy. Her work is focused on growth and optimal performance for individuals, teams, and organizations. She was recently published in the Association for Talent Development’s Global TD Magazine “Mindset Shifts for Better Human Performance Improvement”. Her second book GLUE – A leadership strategy to bond and unite comes out in February 2022.
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