Accelerating Collaboration Among Women at Work
By Lydia I. Beebe
Women have a great opportunity to help each other and themselves by collaborating together. I am not advocating "no collaboration with men", however, women have special opportunities to help each other, and we should be mutually accountable for the success of our gender. Some specific opportunities for collaboration are:
Participate in outside organizations and programs specifically designed for women, such as PBWC, Leadership California, Menttium, Women Unlimited. My employer Chevron has seen women reap the benefits of participating and has become an increasingly big supporter. This communicates to employees that they are valued highly and that Chevron is serious about diversifying the work force and providing development opportunities. These organizations offer a quick start without starting your own program and have helped Chevron move forward with more speed than they might have otherwise.
Form informal networks within your organization or peer group. Organize lunch groups or sounding board meetings to develop opportunities for women. Such gatherings encourage women to take stock of what they have accomplished, where they are, and the impact they can have on others. The group of 6 Chevron women executives I got together 2-1/2 years ago is now 14 or 15. There is no agenda, but a safe zone for sharing experiences, ideas or nuggets to help in future situations. Whatever your current position, you can find people to network with, remind each other that you are not out there alone, and give confidence to do your best.
Change the way you view mentoring. Define your personal boards of mentors. It is no longer one-on-one mentoring throughout an entire career. Seek advice and counsel when and where you need it, be it running a busy household with children or succeeding in your work, identify those you admire and trust who can be helpful. Keep in touch with them; seek their advice; nothing is more flattering. Do the same for others, and be a mentor. No matter where you are in your career, your years in the trenches gave you wisdom you can share. Even if you feel powerless in getting someone a job or promotion, just listening is most helpful. At every point in life we have a lot to give back, and I encourage you to do that.
Managing Conflict in an Organizational Setting
By Michele Demetra
Many factors contribute to conflict in the workplace, such as company reorganizations, increased pressure leading to stress, and workforce diversity. As we approach the millennium, communication experts are moving away from the old notion of "conflict mediation" and looking for new and improved methods of "conflict management". The old style of dealing with a conflict usually involved locking everyone in a room with a mediator until a resolution was found. This often meant compromise and concession on the part of everyone involved, leaving disappointed and often disgruntled employees and no long-term solution to the problem. Unfortunately, we still see this method used today in many national labor disputes involving trade unions.
Take a hard look at your own approaches to conflict and see if the following strategies can help you. The ability to deal with conflict in a positive and constructive way has always been a valuable skill for managers. Now it has become a necessary skill for all employees. Conflict can be an opportunity to increase communication, teamwork, and collaboration between employees, work groups, and divisions within organizations if approached in a positive manner.
Try facilitating the next conflict you encounter within your work group, or call in an objective third party facilitator. This need not involve employing expensive outside consultants; an HR representative in your company could perform the function. Go to a neutral setting - a conference room with a round table works well. Ask all the participants involved in the conflict to talk about what they think is causing the conflict and how it is impacting their ability to get their job done, but first set some ground rules or conversation agreements. It's best to ask the participants to come up with the conversation agreements; a few suggestions are 1) treat all others with respect, no name calling or finger pointing, 2) let the person who is speaking finish without interruption from other group members, 3) hold all comments in confidence. Each unique group might have other situational needs that could be addressed here. You may also wish to have someone record on flip chart paper the things that are discussed in order to clarify issues and return to them later during the meeting.
The facilitator's job is to give each participant the opportunity to share thoughts on how they see the conflict and how it impacts them. Everyone's concerns and opinions should be given equal time. Participants should be guided to think in positive terms whenever possible, such as imagining a "perfect world" scenario. Don't laugh, this method often helps to get people to concentrate on positive future possibilities and leave the negative aspects of the conflict behind. The goal of meeting as a group is not necessarily to come up with a resolution to the conflict, or even a list of action issues, sometimes the only effect is to keep the channels of communication open and to discuss the conflict frankly and candidly.
Occasionally the only outcome of this type of intervention is the decision for parties to politely "agree to disagree". Sometimes that is all you can ask for. Often, however, real progress can be made in helping people to see the other point of view and understanding why the conflict occurred in the first place. Keeping the lines of communication open is a very important - and often underrated method of keeping the peace in the workplace.
Michele Demetras holds a master's degree in speech communication and works in the corporate communication department at National Semiconductor. She is a member of the Public Dialog Consortium and does part-time communication consulting work. She can be reached at or (510)745-9128.
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