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Speaker's Corner - Conflict Prevention In The Workplace

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We're missing the point with conflict resolution and conflict management. We can save huge amount of resources by focusing on preventing destructive conflict while encouraging constructive conflict.

Conflict Prevention In The Workplace 

Conflict in the workplace can be a huge drain on resources. A conflict riddled organization has higher levels of gossip, back-door politics, personal attacks, and turnover while having lower productivity and morale. Conflict isn't always bad, though. There is constructive conflict and destructive conflict. They key is reducing levels of destructive conflict, while ensuring that potentially useful conflict is handled in ways that will keep it productive. 

There are many resources for teaching people how to manage and resolve conflict, but historically there has been little emphasis on PREVENTING destructive conflict from occurring in the first place.  

Robert's focus in "Conflict Prevention In The Workplace" is techniques that anyone can use to prevent unnecessary conflict from happening. The key techniques relate to the use of cooperative communication and language that helps people work together to solve workplace problems rather than confrontational language which pushes people to opposite "sides". The techniques discussed are drawn from Robert's most recent book "Conflict Prevention In The Workplace - Cooperative Communication". 

Possible topics include: 

. Conflict in organizations - an overview of the good & the bad 
. The difference between cooperative vs. conflict provoking behaviour 
. Replacing conflict provoking communication with cooperative communication 
. The power of general cooperative communication techniques 

Prospective Audience: 

Anyone in the workplace 
  

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Your Presenter - Who Is Robert Bacal? 

Robert Bacal is a dynamic stimulating speaker whose forte is questioning common assumptions in business, management, training and communication, and helping others approach common issues and problems from a different perspective. 

Holding a Masters degree in applied psychology, Robert has been training others and speaking for two decades in corporate, government and university settings. Other experiences include working as an organizational development consultant, an instructional design specialist, serving on an academic research journal editorial board, and even working with multiple murderers in a mental health setting. 

Currently Robert is head of two companies, Bacal & Associates, a consulting organization, and the Institute For Cooperative Communication, a virtual organization whose mandate is to develop, explore and teach ways to prevent and deal with conflict. 

Robert is also the author of eight books ranging from "Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook for Public Sector" to "A Critique of Performance Management Systems - Why Don't They Work". His newest book, Conflict Prevention In The Workplace - Using Cooperative Communication was released in May, 1998. In 1999, McGraw-Hill published his book entitled Performance Management - A Briefcase Book

In addition to books, Robert is a regular writer for Today's Supervisor in California, and former writer and publisher of The Public Sector Manager Newsletter and The Work-Smart Bulletin. His articles have been used all over the world in academic and business settings and reproduced in association publications such as the International Association of Facilitators. 

Robert applies several principles to his speaking and training engagements. First, no canned speeches. All speaking and training engagements are custom-designed. Second, Robert will only speak or offer training in topic areas where he has a considerable level of expertise. Third, passion and energy. Robert only speaks on issues where he feels a passion for the particular issues. It shows. 

Robert's work can be summed up with the following quote: 

My job is not to have all the answers. I'd like to have all the answers but I won't pretend I do. My real job is to help people who attend my sessions question assumptions, and explore ways for them to solve their own problems, whether it be in team-development, performance management or customer service. Two criterion for success. People who attend my sessions should walk out thinking just a bit differently. And, they should laugh, enjoy and relax while they are there.