How would you handle a conflict between two underperforming team members without taking sides?

Here are a few strategies to handling conflict between underperforming team members: 1. Private Meeting: Arrange a private meeting with both team members. 2. Active Listening: Encourage them to share their perspectives without interruption. 3. Focus on Issues: Shift the conversation towards specific problems causing conflict, not personal attacks. 4. Collaboration: Facilitate brainstorming for solutions together, fostering ownership. 5. Mediation: Offer suggestions if needed, and provide resources for improvement. 6. Expectations & Follow Up: Establish clear expectations and schedule a follow-up to monitor progress Throughout the process, remain objective by using neutral language, avoiding blame, and prioritizing the team's goals.

Before jumping to conclusions, it’s crucial to gather all the facts surrounding the conflict between your team. At IBM, when Ginni Rometty encountered conflicts within her teams, she made it a priority to listen actively to each person’s perspective with an open mind. This approach helped her understand the root causes of the conflict and demonstrated her commitment to fairness. By focusing on the problem and not the people, Rometty avoided letting personal biases affect her judgment. This strategy enabled her to address the issues constructively and find resolutions that benefited the entire team. Your goal is to gather all relevant information, understand the different viewpoints, and remain objective to manage the situation effectively.

As the leader, you must invest the time to understand what is actually going on here. Spend time with each team member to find out the facts of what has happened, and importantly, the consequences of what has happened. Is there an impact on the business or stakeholders that you also need to address? You also need to dig a bit deeper to understand the dynamics of the relationship between the two people, is this a one off situation or an ongoing issue between them?

Na situação de conflito entre dois membros da equipe com baixo desempenho, é fundamental abordar o problema com imparcialidade e foco na resolução. Comece ouvindo ambas as partes para compreender suas perspectivas e os fatores que contribuem para o baixo desempenho. Evite tomar partido e mantenha uma postura neutra, concentrando-se em identificar as causas raiz do conflito e do desempenho abaixo do esperado. Estabeleça metas claras e realistas para melhorar o desempenho, promovendo um ambiente de comunicação aberta e colaboração para resolver o problema de forma construtiva e benéfica para toda a equipe.

Encourage an open dialogue between the team members. Facilitate a discussion where each person can express their views without interruption or judgment. This process can help clear misunderstandings and allow both parties to see each other's points of view. Your role is to guide the conversation, ensuring it remains constructive and focused on finding a solution rather than dwelling on the problem.

If you're going to facilitate a conversation between the two individuals, you need to set some ground rules for how the conversation will happen, and the conduct and behaviours you expect. Depending on how big or detrimental the conflict is, you'll need to take a different approach. If it's a one-off, relatively minor issue, then facilitate the conversation to find a resolution and help everyone move on. If it's a more significant conflict, I suggest involving HR in the conversation, both for you, and the individuals involved.

Clearly articulate the performance standards and expectations to both team members. It's important that they understand what is required of them and the impact their conflict is having on the team's productivity. By setting these expectations, you provide a benchmark for improvement and a clear objective that both individuals can work towards. This also serves as a reminder that while conflict can be addressed, underperformance must also be rectified.

Clearly articulate the performance standards and expectations to both team members. When Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, dealt with conflicts within her team, she set clear performance standards for everyone involved. Friedman ensured that both team members understood what was required of them and how their conflict impacted the team’s productivity. By setting these expectations, she provided a benchmark for improvement and a clear objective that both individuals could work towards. This approach addressed the conflict while also highlighting the need to rectify underperformance. By clearly communicating standards and expectations, you help align team members and focus them on achieving their goals.

Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing if handled properly, and it can actually serve as a vehicle for strengthening relationships. That can only happen if there are some clear ground rules in place though. In these scenarios it's especially important for you to be clear in communicating your expectations for behaviour and performance.

One of my rules when I was a manager was the 72 hour rule for dealing with an incident or conflict. Three options were available to my team - 1) they could approach the individual and air the issue directly in private, often most conflicts were resolved this way. 2) if they did not feel comfortable, the option was always available to have myself act as a mediator to work through the conflict towards resolution, I believe this happened once. 3) they could forget about, but, after 72 hours, the issue was not permitted to be brought up or discussed again if this option was selected.

Offer the necessary support to help your team members overcome their conflict and improve their performance. This could involve additional training, mentorship, or resources that enable them to address their shortcomings. Show empathy and understanding, but also maintain a firm stance on the importance of collaboration and high performance. Your support should empower them to resolve their issues and contribute positively to the team.

Offer the necessary support to help your team members overcome their conflict and improve their performance. When Alan Mulally led Ford through its turnaround, he provided extensive support to team members facing conflicts and performance issues. Mulally arranged for additional training, mentorship programs, and resources to help them address their deficiencies. He demonstrated empathy and understanding while emphasizing the importance of collaboration and high performance. This approach empowered team members to resolve their conflicts and contribute positively to the team. Providing support in this way helps team members overcome challenges and improve their overall performance.

Build strong, trust based, relationships with each of your team members, so that they feel confident that you'll have their back when difficult situations arise. Be clear and consistent in communicating your standards and expectations, while also providing support and guidance to help your team members move past their differences.

When we are coaching a particular behaviour the 90 day rule is a good guide or benchmark to determine if the individual is ready, willing, and able to change. This is similar in fitness programs, with consistent effort, results can be seen and witnessed within 90 days.

After implementing strategies to resolve the conflict, it's important to monitor the progress of the team members involved. Regular check-ins will help you gauge whether the situation is improving and if the performance levels are rising. This also shows your ongoing commitment to their development and the well-being of the team. If necessary, be prepared to make further adjustments to ensure a harmonious and productive work environment.

Use your regular one-on-ones to check in with each of your team members to understand how the relationship is going, and to identify any other issues that are bubbling below the surface. Now you know that there is potential for these two individuals to experience conflict, keep an eye on the situation so you can address any issues early on before they become a problem.

Monitoring progress involves regular check-ins with the team members to review their development and address ongoing issues. Schedule bi-weekly or monthly meetings to discuss their improvements and any challenges they face. Use performance metrics to objectively assess their progress. Encourage open communication, allowing team members to voice concerns and seek support. Document each meeting’s outcomes and adjust the action plan as needed based on feedback and observed progress. Provide continuous encouragement and recognize any positive changes to reinforce their efforts and maintain motivation.

Rather than teamwork I tend to prefer cultivating a group of collaborating ‘stars’ that can come together and thrive, and also work independently with an intrapreneurial spirit. Ultimately, some will move on and others will come aboard, so continually challenging the stars with new quests and adventures is KEY!

Encourage collaborative problem-solving, and work together to find mutually beneficial solutions. Effective conflict resolution focuses on finding solutions rather than assigning blame. By maintaining a neutral stance and emphasizing collaborative problem-solving, you can help your team members overcome their differences and improve their performance. Create a plan with specific steps and timelines for improvement. Set clear expectations and monitor progress. Provide feedback and appreciate even smallest element of their effort & contribution to bring them on to the track. Support them on the gaps without criticism -go for explaining the scope of their effort more clearly

Reinforce the value of teamwork and collective success within your team. Highlight examples of effective collaboration and celebrate achievements that result from working together. This helps to build a culture of unity and shared responsibility, where conflicts are less likely to arise and performance issues are addressed promptly. Your leadership in fostering this environment will be key in maintaining high morale and productivity.

In this case, teamwork may be the only way to keep both in your team if they work well and elevate the performance bar. No one likes to fire someone, but sometimes you need oxygen on the team, especially if two underperforming people are in conflict.

Focus on the problem, not the people: Address the specific issues causing the conflict, rather than attributing blame to the individuals involved. Mediation: If the conflict is particularly severe, consider bringing in a neutral third party to mediate the discussion and help find a resolution. Follow-Up: Ensure that there are follow-up meetings scheduled to review progress and make any necessary adjustments. Training and Development: Provide opportunities for training in conflict resolution and teamwork to prevent future conflicts. Team-Building Activities: Organize activities that promote team bonding and understanding, helping to build stronger interpersonal relationships within the team.

It’s important to equip them with a practice and training for how to navigate conflicts effectively. Demonstrate how to consciously engage in an effective conversation to deal with a conflict. Generally, conflict arises from unclear expectations, miscommunication, or not understanding the other persons strengths. By addressing all three you can overcome most conflicts.