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Resolve Conflict for the Boss

Most people would prefer not to argue or fight with someone, especially in the workplace. It’s not private, it’s not pretty, and it certainly is not conducive to a positive office atmosphere.

If we do bring bad moods or manners to the office, we could use a little counseling, for we’re not being helpful to those around us who want, expect, and deserve a work environment that is healthy, even happy.

Conflict resolution is both an art and a science. A subject taught at universities and practiced by diplomats on the world stage, conflict management is used to help people understand better why other people do certain things. Whether at the international level, at the corporate level, or on an individual basis, there are certain commonalities that come into play.

A starting point is to look at the histories of those in conflict. The personalities involved are another factor. What have been their past and more recent actions toward the adversary? What are their goals and objectives for engaging in conflict to begin with? What is the desired end state of those in disagreement?

In the workplace, assuming you have management responsibility over others, you are in a position and have a need to resolve differences among employees who are at odds. If you have supervisory responsibility but not ultimate responsibility, do not assume that the boss can or will get involved in resolving disputes. I’ve worked for bosses who want no part in dealing with conflict between subordinates. They expect others to solve the problem no matter how small or how large. Having somebody else fix it is their expectation; it may even be their directive.

A good place to start if that requirement falls on you is to look at the differences and the obstacles to be overcome. Consider the options, stake out the solutions, and get after the problem. When there’s a lot at stake for the boss or for a project important to him or her, the urgency to find the right answer to a problem involving conflict is high.

When the writing and editing of Colin Powell’s memoirs was complete in the summer of 1995, focus shifted to promotion of his 613-page book. I scheduled dozens of print interviews, all of which were embargoed until the scheduled release of the book on Friday, September 15, 1995.

Random House demanded that there be a cloak of secrecy leading up to the formal release and first book signing the next day in McLean, Virginia. Their goal was to distribute 950,000 copies, the first printing, to bookstores across the country.

Leading up to that date, there were other scheduled events: an excerpt in TIME magazine on Monday, September 11, and an ABC 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters that Friday night, September 15.

The 20/20 feature was the centerpiece, and ABC invested heavily in it. The general and I traveled to Jamaica in August for a series of interviews with Barbara Walters in the country where his parents had been born. The visit to those family roots was coupled with a stop at Fort Benning, Georgia, where Powell as a lieutenant had planted his military roots. Barbara interviewed him several times in both places. Later, we met and he walked with her in his old South Bronx neighborhood called Banana Kelly. Lots of time and money on ABC’s part went into this production.

Then the roof caved in on the carefully orchestrated publicity plan when Newsweek sabotaged it by somehow obtaining a bootleg copy and releasing its own unauthorized excerpt on September 4, a week before the TIME cover story was to run and 11 days before the Walters piece was to air.

We flew to New York City on Tuesday, September 5, for a Random House–hosted book party at the ritzy I Trulli restaurant in midtown. No sooner had I walked through the door with Powell to join the company of the rich and famous who had been invited than I was attacked verbally by Ms. Walters, who was not at all happy with Newsweek’s hijacking of the story. Anger and frustration were in her voice. “How could you let this happen?” she asked. “What am I to do now that I have been preempted?”

I asked her if we could retire to a corner for a more private discussion. TIME editor Jim Kelly joined us. He was none too happy either about having been walloped by the competition notwithstanding the routine existence of this ancient journalistic tradition called scooping.

Conflict at its best, or in this case at its worst for us. I asked for the chance to continue this heated discussion in a more civil way after dinner. They agreed to give me time to inform the boss of the problem before we sat down for dinner.

After the meal and the praise heaped on Harold Evans, the publisher, and the author, the crowd dispersed. Evans, Walters, Kelly, the general, and I found that proverbial quiet little table in the corner for a not so quiet conversation on how to salvage the situation. Newsweek had beaten everyone to the punch. Our goal was to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

We sought something quite useful in resolving conflict. It’s called compromise. In this case, we agreed to two things: that 20/20 could air their special on Powell earlier than planned and that we would conduct an additional interview with TIME to add to their cover story of the following week.

We met the next morning in my room at the Trump Tower with TIME writers John Stacks and Michael Kramer. They even brought a photographer who rearranged the furniture to provide the proper backdrop for the Powell sidebar interview, which was as much about his political aspirations as it was about the book. For a couple of old soldiers unaccustomed to show biz, it was something to behold.

We had both experienced plenty of conflict in our careers on the battlefield and in conference rooms where talks were tense, but this conflict took the cake. We felt we had barely escaped the wrath of two journalists who were hopping mad at us for a situation we did not create. Nevertheless, we needed to solve the issue so that their dignity and reputations were salvaged.

Actually, all the additional publicity provided courtesy of Newsweek’s cover story added to the attention surrounding the book and the author. It also contributed to speculation about his political intentions. My American Journey was so popular and successful that it had multiple printings and was published in many languages over time.

If there is a moral regarding conflict in the workplace, it’s to face up to it, attack it quickly, and resolve it properly and permanently. Allowing it to persist will only make matters worse. If the boss doesn’t want to deal with conflict in the organization or on his or her staff, so be it. The boss is the boss!

You, however, out of loyalty to that boss and a duty to serve that boss well must take action. The boss need not know you had to do it or even how well you did it as long as it was done in a way that put the conflict behind you. That is far better than what previously stood before you.