Step in early, before sides form
The longer a conflict runs, the more people take sides and the harder it is to unpick. Stepping in early, while it is still a disagreement rather than a war, gives you the best chance of a quiet resolution.
You don't need to solve it in one dramatic meeting. Often a calm, private word with each person to understand what is really going on is the right first move.
Address it while it is still small, with a calm private word to each person, rather than waiting for it to escalate.
Stay neutral and focus on behaviour, not personalities
Your job isn't to decide who is the nicer person, it is to get the working relationship back to a professional footing. Stay neutral, hear both sides, and keep the focus on specific behaviours and their effect on the team.
Resist being pulled into one person's version of events. If you visibly take a side, you lose the trust you need to resolve it, and you may create a grievance where there was only a clash.
Hear both sides properly and stay neutral, keeping the conversation on behaviour and its impact.
Agree what changes, and know when to escalate
Aim for a practical agreement on how the two will work together going forward, and follow up to check it is holding. Mediation, formal or informal, can help where a simple conversation hasn't.
If the behaviour crosses a line, into bullying, harassment or misconduct, it stops being a conflict to smooth over and becomes a matter to handle formally. Knowing where that line is protects you and the team.
Agree concrete changes and follow up, and escalate to a formal process if behaviour crosses into misconduct.
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Key takeaways
- Step in early, before a disagreement hardens into sides.
- Stay strictly neutral and focus on behaviour and its impact, not personalities.
- Agree practical changes and follow up to check they hold.
- Know when conflict tips into misconduct. Unsure how serious it is? Take the free Situation Check.
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