上周五，一场持续的工作纠纷终于以两名男子在帝国大厦附近的牺牲为代价而告一段落，这是朝同事泄愤可能导致的后果的一个极端例子。
然而，有效地处理工作矛盾的重要性，它不仅仅体现在像Hazan进出口公司那样最坏的情形下。一年前被Hazan解雇的一男子开枪打死两名以前的同事后被警察开枪击毙。同事间的日常关系紧张甚至可能影响到公司的利益。
西雅图的领导人培训公司菲尔斯的客户开发部资深副总吉姆.玻尔（Kim Bohr）在2011年的员工生产率报告中表示，“矛盾经常被人们误解。对于气氛紧张的争论，矛盾所体现出来的一般是让人不愉快的表象，但矛盾的根源在于缺乏技能设置。
针对周五发生的致两死九伤的枪击事件，就如何有效地管理那些有进取心不但能创造更舒适的工作环境而且能创造投资回报的员工，菲尔斯首席执行官哈利·贝克(Halley Bock)为Upstart商业周刊提供了三条沟通建议：
● 坦诚、不责备
据哈佛商业评论介绍，企业执行委员会在其2011年的研究中表明，鼓励坦诚信息回馈的企业比不鼓励坦诚信息回馈的企业挣钱要多。相比开放式交流程度较低的企业10期2.1%的股东回报，开放式交流程度较高的企业组织的10年期股东回报高达7.9%。
坦诚而无指责地与同事相处，他们也会以同样的方式对待你。当支持员工讲真话，让他们不会担心自己因道出在同事身上的所见所感而遭到报复时，领导能够就公司整体做出更好的决策。
● 避免冒然假设
我们常常彼此误解，对原本绝对没有的意图添枝加叶。在与同事或员工相处时，首先应该是问问题，坦诚而好奇，而不是审问式的。可以这样与他们开始交流：“我们的工作关系对我很重要，因此我想与你谈谈我的看法。对于我的看法，请谈谈你的见解。”虽然这在遇到轻率的员工时也许会难以做到，但务必要重新去认识这样的情形，加深你对以前也许不知道的驱动因素的了解。
● 寻求多方观点
对于任何一种情形，不是所有人都了解其全部真相，而是每个人都了解其中之一。在接近一个有进取心的员工之前，为了真正解了事情的真相，务必要收集各方面的或是多方面具有竞争意义的对事实的不同观点。例如，同与这名员工有良好关系的同事交谈，而不是只与那些认同你的观点的同事交谈。这样的方法会让你对实际情形及你的同事更加了解，而且你的员工将会尊重你的期望，真正让你了解到从他们的立场出发他们的观点是什么。
The ongoing workplace dispute that last Friday ended with the deaths of two men near the Empire State Building is an extreme example of what can happen when someone is angry at a co-worker.
But effectively dealing with professional confrontations isn’t just important in worst-case scenarios like the one at Hazan Import Company—where one man who was fired a year ago shot an ex-colleague and then was gunned down by police. Even everyday tensions between colleagues can impact a company’s bottom line.
“Confrontation is frequently misunderstood,” said Kim Bohr, senior vice president of client development at Fierce Inc., a Seattle-based leadership training company, in a 2011 report on employee productivity. “It conjures up unpleasant images of tense arguments and discomfort, yet it stems from a lack of skill set.”
In response to Friday’s shooting, in which nine other people were also wounded, though not fatally, Fierce's chief executive Halley Bock sent Upstart Business Journal three communication tips for effectively dealing with aggressive employees that can not only lead to a more pleasant work environment, but a measurable return on investment:
Be honest and don’t place blame. Companies that encourage honest feedback make more money than companies that don’t, according to the Corporate Executive Board in its 2011 study shared by Harvard Business Review. It found that organizations that rated highly in the areas of open communication delivered a 10-year TSR (total shareholder return) of 7.9 percent, compared with 2.1 percent at other companies.
Approach an aggressive colleague with honesty and without laying blame, and he or she will respond in kind. There is a way to be truthful that opens doors, enriches relationships, and encourages the conversation to move forward in a meaningful way. When employees are supported in telling the truth about what they have witnessed or how they feel toward a colleague without fear of retaliation, leaders are able to make better decisions for the company as a whole.
Avoid jumping straight to assumption. We often misinterpret one another and add meaning or subtext that was never intended. When approaching a colleague or employee, ask questions first. Be open and curious, rather than passing judgment. Starting a conversation with, “Our working relationship is important to me, so I want to talk with you about what I have observed. Tell me what it looks like from your perspective.” Though it may be difficult with a brash employee, come into the situation with a clean slate and develop a deeper understanding of other driving factors you may not have known before.
Seek multiple perspectives. No one owns the truth about a situation. Everyone owns a piece of it. Before approaching an aggressive worker, gather multiple, and perhaps competing, perceptions of reality in order to truly understand what is going on. For instance, talk with co-workers who have healthy relationships with the individual, not just those who share your experience. This practice will make you more knowledgeable about the situation and colleagues, and employees will respect your desire to truly learn what their view is from where they are sitting.
