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K&R
Kuest & Robinson
9TH ANNUAL AWPHD LEADERS RETREAT--
MAKING THE MOST OUT OF
CONFLICT
K&R LLC
K&R LLC
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
Lloyd Robinson, Principal

Ron Kuest, Principal
Definitions
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 Conflict:
A disagreement at work when the
individuals involved believe there is a threat to
their needs, interests or concerns.
These disagreements often involve
misunderstandings or misperceptions of facts,
are often emotional and affect many aspects of
work.
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Definitions
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 Productive
conflict: Disagreements in a safe
environment marked by trust, openness, respect
and mutuality.
 Unproductive conflict: Conflict among
individuals that interferes with safe and
productive work.
 Conflict
competency: The ability to engage in
disagreements and tension with others and
produce results of the effort while
building trust and amity.
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Kuest & Robinson
The Core Concept
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
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Put another way, unproductive conflict
results from to pursue an organization’s
vision and mission.
That belief system is made up of a:
 Shared
vision
 Common mission/purpose
 Shared and known values
 Expected and accountable behaviors
Why is This Important?
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 85% of employees have to deal with
conflict in some way in their working lives.
 Conflict at the senior level is found in
many organizations and can have a
significant cultural impact on the
organization.
Source: OPP Study 2008
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Why is This Important?
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"Unresolved conflict represents the
largest reducible cost in many
businesses, yet it remains largely
unrecognized."
(Dana, Daniel (1999). Measuring the Financial Cost of Organizational Conflict. MTI
Publications and Slaikev, K. and Hasson, R. (1998). Controlling the Cost of Conflict. JosseyBass)
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Kuest & Robinson
The Costs of Conflict
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BY THE NUMBERS
$700,000: is the average jury award in wrongful termination
80,000: number of discrimination charges filed annually with
the Equal Opportunity Commission
$38,000: average claim paid on a sexual harassment case
15,500: number of sexual harassment cases filed annually
70: percent of jury trials in which employees win
55: percent of claims in which damages are awarded
$6.4: the average amount, in millions, of punitive damages
awarded in racial discrimination cases
$2.7: average amount, in millions, of punitive damages
awarded in employment cases
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What are the Potential Impacts of
Conflict?
 Excessive employee turnover
 Loss of efficiency and
effectiveness
 Disputes, grievances and litigation
 Stress, frustration and low morale
 Damaged labor relations
 Sick leave and disability claims
 Damaged community/patient/physician
relations
Life Process of a Conflict
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Looking for a
way out--to cut
Deadlock--two
Early
Growth--no
Beginning--a
difference of
opinion, view or
belief
method or skills
to deal with
dispute. Hostility
is expressed.
sides at war. A
mutually hurting
stalemate waiting
to break out into
violence.
loses or gain time to
rebuild. Both
parties become
open to negotiation
and mediation.
Settling
dispute or
resolving
conflict--both
sides too weak to
continue to fight.
Open to resolution
but so much hurt is
on the table.
Working
together—
both sides realize
a new order is
necessary for
economic/
organizational
survival.
Cost/losses are
huge at this
point
.
Staying Away From Extremes
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Conflict in a Hospital Setting
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
Question: What does conflict look like in a
hospital setting?
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CEO differences of focus and priorities with:
Commissioners, Trustees, Doctors, Employees, Community
Tension between mission and margin
Greater workloads by everyone with diminishing and/or
inadequate resources
Doctors are looking for more compensation for services
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What are the Impacts?
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
Question: What are the impacts of
unproductive conflict in a hospital setting?

Wasted time (who pays?)

Momentum killer
Labor disputes/litigation
Costs good people (leave, won’t come, burn out)
Slows strategic planning
Loss of the time margin
Patients feel the stress, anxiety, “edginess”
Patients have less attention/time
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Issues and Impacts
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Between Board—CEO—Clinical Staff and
within the Board
Between Clinical Staff and Administrative
Staff
(Patient care vs. Available resources)
Dynamic Tension Between Quality Services –
Community Resources
The Tough Role of the CEO
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Patient care vs. available resources?
Strategic expectations of board vs. tactical
realities of scarce resources?
Limited capacity for frank and open
communication due to open meeting laws?
Limited capacity for frank and open
communication due to bargaining unit
formalities?
Lack of common vision of how we care for the
community?
Continuous State of Dynamic Tension
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Check List
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Is there a shared/common vision?
Is everyone seeing the same horizon?
Does your Board focus enough on vision and
policy—the strategic issues of governance?
Do you, as an organization have meaningful
procedures in place to deal with conflicts?
Conflict-Joint Commission’s View
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 “Conflict
commonly occurs even in wellfunctioning organizations and can be productive
for organizations. However, conflict among
[leadership groups] with regard to
accountabilities, policies, practices, and
procedures that is not managed effectively by
the organization has the potential to threaten
health care safety and quality.”
The Joint Commission 2009, Leadership Chapter
Conflict-Joint Commission’s View
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“Further, it is important that organizations
identify an individual skilled in managing
conflict who can help the organization
implement its conflict management process.”
“Conflict management skills can be acquired
through various means, including experience,
education, and training.”
The Joint Commission 2009, Leadership Chapter
What Can Be Done?
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
Ways to address unproductive conflict and
create a conflict competent workplace
Assess
Build
Resolve
Sustain
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What Can Be Done?
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
ASSESS

Have an evidenced-based bias for action.
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A Conflict Assessment Tool
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ASSESS
 What
is the need?
 What does it do?
 How does it add value to a dispute resolution
process?
ACNTM - Assess Conflict Now
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Need
 People
and conflicts are often complex with
underlying issues
 Get individual’s perspective on issues in a
confidential manner
 Build a benchmark of credible information
 Provide neutrals with credible information
 Understand the source or location of blockages
to productivity
ACNTM -- Assess Conflict Now
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What Does It Do?
 On-line
survey of over 60 questions
 Complete confidentiality assured
 Questions designed to profile the nature, the
sources, the extent and the impact of conflict in
a workplace setting
 Audit Report
ACNTM - Assess Conflict Now
•
What Does It Produce?
–
Diagnostic Indicators
•
Loss/Risk
Personality Clashes
Interpersonal Issues
–
–
–
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•
Threatening Behaviors
Threatening Behaviors
Personality Clashes
Lack of Proficiency in
Communications Skills
Personal Value Differences
Organization’s Perceived
Inability to Manage
Organization’s Process of
Communications
Organizational Issues
–
–
–
Organization’s Process of Communications
Organization’s Perceived Inability to Manage
Loss/Risk
Lack of Proficiency in
Communication Skills
Personal Value Differences
ACNTM - Assess Conflict Now

Bar graphs
Main causes of workplace conflicts - Lack of clarity about accountability
Overall
Acct'ing
Cust. Support
Exec
Sales
Warehouse
OPP
ACNTM - Assess Conflict Now
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Bar graphs
What Can Be Done?
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
BUILD
 Conflict
resolution skills training
 Personality/communications skills building
 Organizational and personal value-values
clarification
 Intergenerational valuing/appreciation
 EEO and hospital policy training
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What Can Be Done?
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RESOLVE
 Alternative
internal dispute resolution processes
 Facilitation and resolution
 Mediation
 Arbitration
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Kuest & Robinson
What Can Be Done?
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
SUSTAIN
 Look
at how the organization communicates.
 Build
intentional conflict competency skills into
the orientation/training process at every level in
the organization.
 Be alert to how staff routinely deals with tension.
 Utilize
an EAP (employee assistance
program)
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Kuest & Robinson
What Can Be Done?
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
SUSTAIN
 Question:
What does it mean to become conflict
competent?
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Durability of resolution
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Normalization of conflict
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Thank You --- Questions?
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Kuest & Robinson