Political allegiances differ within an organisation, and employees tend to allow it to affect hiring practices, outside investments, lobbying, and political donations. Leaders may be ill-equipped to cope and, at times, are part of the problem as no one trains them or helps them deal with the challenge. Here are some things you can do as a leader to minimise conflict.
Our political allegiance distorts how we perceive and interpret facts — often, we hear and see only what we want. Confirmation bias is when people with differing ideological outlooks are presented with the same evidence; they’re likely to attend to and interpret it differently — in ways that serve our political allegiances.
It’s much easier to develop norms and procedures for navigating political conflict at work before it emerges.
“The best time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” — It’s much easier to develop norms and procedures for navigating political conflict at work before it emerges. Set the rules, for instance, on when, where and how such discussions are allowed. Communication tools used for official communication should not allow any political chats or forwards.
When sensitive issues emerge, encourage employees to approach them with curiosity while avoiding personal attacks, name calling or sarcasm.
Encourage employees to fact-check before having discussions and educate them on the dangers of false narratives.
Knowing that bias exists is not sufficient to immunise us against it. Managers must also provide employees with tools that help them recognise when they may be engaging in motivated reasoning and then self-correct. Encourage employees to fact-check before having discussions and educate them on the dangers of false narratives.
Nurture the wisdom that focusing on all parties’ interests and seeking creative solutions will make everybody better off.
Yield constructive results by emphasising the value of harnessing disagreements to achieve innovation. Nurture the wisdom that focusing on all parties’ interests and seeking creative solutions will make everybody better off.
