Whether it’s sales skill training, leadership development courses, or even pre-marriage counseling, the blueprint for success is the same: cover all the fundamentals first and later teach a contingency strategy, which is what to do when the basics don’t work. In other words, for example, handling objections in selling, substandard performance in managing, or disagreement in marriage. Handling conflict and disagreement is unfortunately often positioned as a secondary or contingency strategy in training/development courses. Really, conflict and/or disagreement is a regular element of all human relationships and should be treated as primary.
“How to handle disagreements at work” and “How to communicate more effectively at work” are essentially synonymous. There will always be disagreements at work – and in life. Disagreement is simply a natural part of humans working in groups and, in general, is a sign of a healthy, fully expressive environment where many points of view are being considered.
The degree to which a disagreement turns out to be productive is directly related to how the parties handle it, how well they communicate, and, importantly, the role the sales manager or leader takes.
