Dr. Gary Carlson

rebecca, Listening is a big part of the process of conflict management. When we can show the concern and listen to the parties it immediately brings down the emotion. The key to your leadership is never rise to their level of emotion about the issue. Remain a leader and be able to step back and give good judgement and praise if appropriate. Dr. Gary Carlson

Stephen, This is the time to recognize negative stress and positive. Positive stress is used in motivation by realizing the value of the motivation with a light at the end of the tunnel. Negative stress is equal to trauma, emotion and psychologic depression. The good thing is the best practices for contending with stress works in both cases. Dr. Gary Carlson

Scott, Having a healthy life style with balance in your other stress reliever activities is a good practice. We all need to acquire the ability to not let others behaviors affect us in a negative way. Our talent is to understand others poor negative attitudes and not let them give us a setback on our lives. Keep looking forward to your goals and achievements. Dr. Gary Carlson

Richard, Good point! There is stress that can be considered positive. This stress is when we are motivated to accomplish something that is good and for the betterment of the operations. Bad stress comes from trauma, emotional depression and health issues. This is why it is good to keep up with your balanced life of practices to cope with negative stress. Dr. Gary Carlson

Sharyn, Your first point is a very good one. When it comes to escalating conversations it is good to keep your composure. Each of us should not elevate our emotion to the level of the person who is upset. When someone is emotional the way to bring them down is to maintain and understand level of communication with sincere listening skills. 87% of good communication comes from listening. Dr. Gary Carlson

Joseph, Preplanning and information for the participants before hand is essential. The leaders of a meeting should explain the expectations of the meeting before the participants arrive. The challenges and the benefits for change should be outlined. This should give the employees a chance to see the value of the strategic plan. When people arrive a good discussion should be positive and constructive for improvement for the plan. Dr. Gary Carlson

Tia, Being in control of your own destiny and behavior is important to your success. Negative talk and saboteurs can make this difficult. You can maintain optimism and control of your thoughts when you have the discipline. In time the positive talk will over rule the saboteurs. Keep an eye on your performance and integrity. You will be respected for it. Dr. Gary Carlson

treva, These are good techniques. Good communication requires good observation of body language and listening to what they are saying. Listening is 87% of communication. Behavior of the person is a indication of an earlier experience. You being observant helps to have a productive outcome. Dr. Gary Carlson

Sarah, Plans are necessary and needed. In some cases we find our plan was not full proof and this is a time to plan again to shore up the gaps. Don't overlook the future and plan for it. Dr. Gary Carlson

Sarah, It is beneficial for us to allow others to consider what could be a crisis, After you get the crisis list in order have a committee propose plans of action. Carefully go through plans "A" and "B". We can foresee all potentials but portions of plans can work. I have had my share of my crisis with weather, fire and even violence. It is better to be proactive than to not have any plan at all. Dr. Gary Carlson