The Future Leaders group in the Middle East hosted a breakfast addressing conflict. It was great to see such a diverse group of people in attendance, with 8 different nationalities represented and an equal split of genders. In addition to having a guest speaker there was an opportunity to network amongst attendees, and having such a wide range of experiences and backgrounds in the room, this really helped the discussion and responses to questions posed by our speaker. Inspirational and thought-provoking We were delighted to have Dawn Metcalfe come in and speak to us. Dealing with conflict is challenging - everybody reacts differently, this is human nature. More so, when you are placed in a stressful situation or when patience is thin, what is said isn’t always done so in the intended tone or content. Dawn highlighted the importance of looking at a situation pragmatically and to not always jump to the worst case scenario when looking at why something has (or hasn’t happened) - there can be other reasons. By having those reasons in our minds, our body language and communication becomes much softer, therefore the response we get back is likely to be more favourable. Using this in practice An example of how we do this was highlighted in the following scenario: your boss has given you a task on Sunday, with a deadline of Thursday, by Monday your boss has followed up five times to make sure all is ok with the task. A worst case response would be: Is this because my boss doesn’t trust me, thinks I’m incapable or will forget? A more favourable response to this would be: Is this because my boss is trying to provide support, guide and be more approachable. By having this mindset, we are less likely to say “Why don’t you trust me?” or “why are you micro-managing me?”. Your response would therefore potentially change to “I’ve noticed you’ve asked me a few times about this task, is everything ok?” or “the task is in hand, would you like me to provide an update tomorrow, so you know we are on track?” Find out more Dawn Metcalfe has recommended the following interview as an example of how to have difficult conversations: Hard talk with Dawn Metcalfe The Future Leaders group supports members in the earlier stages of their career. If you haven’t joined the ACT and/or the Future Leaders group yet please do! Find out more at treasurers.org/join or treasurers.org/futureleaders We would like to thank Chalhoub Group for hosting the breakfast.
