Collaborative Decision Making
Resolution, according
to Levine (2009) involves a common agreement where everyone has the sense of
winning, although the parties perhaps have the feeling of not getting all they
wanted. Resolution requires (Levine, 2009):
1.
Moving from conflict to a workable
agreement, a dynamic context for action and cooperation.
2.
Honoring everyone’s concerns.
3.
Taking actions that put the conflict and
its impact to rest.
4.
Committing to ongoing relationships.
5.
Getting beyond everyone’s emotional
positions.
6.
Establishing a vision for the future that
lets go of blame, punishment, and damages and recognizes others’ value.
7.
Recognizing new practices essential for
the success of ongoing relationships.
8.
Being willing to learn, having the courage
to change, and the compassion to forgive.
I recall a decision I made 10 years ago, which brought me
back to the agreement requirements mentioned above, where I involved all
stakeholders and in which I achieved my goals.
I
was managing the leisure and sports department of a five stars beach resort. It
was high season, and we had an average of 1000+ guests, including 300 children
in the hotel every week, for a period of one entire month (the higher
occupation of the year). My high season team was a group of 20 employees
(registered and free lancers), while during low season this number dropped to
half (only registered staff). The resort has required employees in high season
to work extra hours without days off, provided those hours would be compensated
in the low season to come. It was difficult as a manager to imply this
condition, as I did not agree with that. I have done their job, in the same
organization, while in their position, and I knew the costs of working that
long hours and the condition provided to employees, but I needed to follow. There
was no openness for dialogue between management and director board.
The directors were three brothers, who did not share the
same opinion and constantly changed small decisions without communicating with each
other, and soon it was another conflict coming up. The director I responded
directly to was a person with low flexibility, mood swings and arrogance, that
almost every employee was afraid to address to or to greet him. Then, a day in
high season, my best and permanent employee made a mistake and broke one rule,
just to have that director watching her. I was called in his office immediately.
I waited for him to calm down, and I listened, as he spoke up all his anger,
his concerns and his frustration with that employee. When he finished, I started.
I apologized on her behalf, and said I agreed with his anger, and understood
the foundation of his decision. Then I explained she was my best and complete
employee, working with group of all ages, with high energy, with the profile
the department requires, with perfect attendance, and whom never caused an
issue, among other strengths. He started again, saying that what she did was
unacceptable, although I knew it was not jeopardizing safety or would impact
highly on the brand, but that specific mistake was a touching on his core
service brand. I concluded just asking for a chance to prove him she deserved
the job and guaranteeing that mistake would never happen again.
I did not consult the employee before the conversation,
but I was working with her long enough to know her values and her professional
goals. In the worst case, I could drop my request to the director. He accepted my
request and shouted again while asking to make sure I would keep with my words,
because he was giving me a vote of trust. He held me accountable for the
agreement we made. I left the meeting, just to start another one with her. I
went through all my conversation with the director, and she agreed she made a
mistake and would not repeat it. I consulted her, if I could really deserve his
trust at that moment, knowing how important it is in a professional environment
and how rare it is coming from this director.
High season was over, and all went smooth among the three
of us from that point on. I was called in the office by him again, to be
praised by our performance as a team, and the conflict we had previously was
not brought to the table. On the employees’ dinner I received a prize for best
employee of the hotel in that year, which for me represented the success of my
daily decisions, as the one mentioned.
I believe I went through all the requirements listed by
Levine (2009), except requirement 7, although some clearer than others, and I
have learnt few lessons from it:
1.
To be physically present in my work
environment to ensure I am aware of the real conflict, and not only the ones I
have heard of.
2.
To be brave to give my word on behalf of the
employee, as it shows accountability for my leaders, and trust and partnership
with my subordinate.
3.
To move from the inevitable emotional
based mindset.
4.
To focus on the resolution and not on the
problem.
5.
Reconsider who are all the possible
stakeholders.
To
conclude, I believe that agreement is possible when all parties want a real
resolution, and resolution is possible when structured leadership ranks does
not go beyond the common goal of the organization.
Reference
Levine, S. (2009). Getting to Resolution: Turning Conflict into
Collaboration. San Francisco, CA: Berett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
