Conflict coaching in the work context
For business partners, managers and employees who experience tensions or conflicts and are prepared to address them in order to strengthen cooperation.
Conflict coaching
Conflict as a signal for necessary change
Conflict situations trigger stress and negative emotions in many people, as conflicts are often perceived as predominantly destructive and rarely seem to bring positive results. As a result, most people avoid actively tackling conflicts and instead wait and see. However, such hesitation is normal and no reason for self-criticism.
Today, I see conflicts as valuable signals. They are indications that change is needed or that something new wants to emerge. This perspective facilitates the path to conflict resolution and enables constructive development in dealing with difficult situations.
Your situation
Conflict coaching instead of escalation
Conflict coaching can be helpful in the following situations:
- You are in an acute conflict with a colleague and collaboration feels blocked or restricted. We work together to understand the underlying dynamics in the relationship system and facilitate a clarification that strengthens the relationship.
- There are ongoing tensions between you and another person in your working environment that could lead to further misunderstandings and possible escalation. The aim of coaching is to make these tensions visible and strengthen the basis for constructive cooperation again.
- In your business relationship or partnership, there are repeated subtle disagreements that affect the effectiveness and harmony of the collaboration. Through conflict coaching, we can uncover the underlying relationship patterns and create a clearer basis for future cooperation.
- Cooperation suffers from behavioral patterns such as devaluation, blame, defensive or avoidant behavior and you would like to see a positive change. In coaching, I support you in recognizing communication and reaction patterns and shaping them more consciously in order to promote respectful, open interaction.
- You would like to talk to your business partner about working together and in particular about how to deal with potential conflicts. Together we will develop forms of communication and ways of clarifying issues that will strengthen your professional relationship in the long term and minimize misunderstandings.
Have you landed on this page because you are dealing with a team conflict? I would be happy to support you and your team with a Team coaching →
"Every conflict is an opportunity to understand yourself and the other person in a new way."
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Process
How do we set up conflict coaching?
1. Getting to know each other
In a free video call, we check whether the chemistry is right. We talk about your overarching goal for the coaching, my approach and our expectations.
2nd kick-off meeting
We clarify the coaching goals and discuss how we want to organize the collaboration. Once the basics have been clarified, we can start working on the content.
3. decision
After the kick-off meeting, we decide whether and how we will continue working. If necessary, we record the framework conditions in a brief coaching agreement.
4. accompaniment
We work with suitable methods and impulses as part of an individual coaching process that is geared towards your topics and goals.
You can find an overview of prices and time formats here → Investment.
Coach
Who accompanies the conflict coaching?
As an organizational psychologist, I support you in your work with leaders and relationship systems in the work context. My approach is to work with you to the dynamics between the parties involved and recurring patterns in the collaboration to understand. This results in Concrete next steps for dealing with the situation.
I offer you a protected space for reflection. This is a place where the pressure of everyday expectations is paused and you can Be able to take a differentiated view of their role in the system and the interactions with others.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about conflict coaching
What approach is conflict coaching based on?
Conflict coaching is based, among other things, on the ORSC approach (Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching). This systemic approach considers the relationship itself as a unit and helps to better understand the dynamics between the people involved.
Coaching is less about who is right and more about who is right, how the interaction in the system works and what it takes to make collaboration possible again.
In contrast to traditional mediation, which often focuses on factual issues, this approach specifically with the relationship and interactions between the parties involved on. As soon as there is more clarity here, many technical issues can be clarified more easily.
The approach is practical and geared to your specific situation.
When is conflict coaching useful?
Conflict coaching is helpful when tensions, misunderstandings or recurring conflicts put a strain on cooperation.
This can be the case between employees, between managers and employees or between business partners.
Coaching supports you in this, Recognize the dynamics in the relationship system and understand recurring patterns in collaboration. The aim is to, to create a sustainable basis for further cooperation, ideally before tensions become entrenched or escalate.
How does conflict coaching differ from mediation and supervision?
Mediation generally aims to reach a concrete agreement at the factual level, e.g. in the event of differences of opinion about tasks, responsibilities or decisions.
Conflict coaching starts earlier. It focuses on the relationship level and on the dynamics in the relationship system between the parties involved. The aim is to understand, what happens in the interaction when the conflict is active and which patterns become effective in the process. When the relationship level is clarified, factual issues can usually be resolved much more easily and sustainably.
Supervision often accompanies teams or specialists on a regular basis over a longer period of time in order to reflect on collaboration, roles or processes.
If you would like to work on recurring tensions or communication patterns for your team, find out more under Team coaching →
What happens if I realize after the kick-off meeting that it's not a good fit?
Chemistry and mutual trust are the basis for successful coaching. The kick-off meeting explicitly serves as Test field. If you (or I) realize afterwards that my way of working or the setting is not optimally suited to your concerns, the process ends at this point. In this case, only the individual session will be charged according to the conditions for the kick-off session and there will be no further obligations.
How is confidentiality ensured in coaching?
As an occupational and organizational psychologist, I am subject to the legal duty of confidentiality. A protected space is the prerequisite for you to be able to talk openly about challenges. Everything you bring to the table remains between us and is not communicated to the outside world. If your company finances the coaching, we clearly agree in advance that only organizational details will be communicated.
How is a coaching process structured and how high is the investment?
An overview of the structure of the coaching process and the investment can be found on the page Investment. The duration, meeting frequency and conditions are transparently presented there.
Where do the coaching sessions take place and are they also available online?
Coaching sessions take place in my coaching room in Zurich on Zeltweg 10 or online takes place. Information about the Coaching in Zurich can be found on the main page. I support team development directly in the respective organization.