How to navigate conflict with a business partner
Conflict exists in all relationships and business is no exception. While conflict may feel uncomfortable in the moment, developing skills to navigate points of tension will strengthen your business partnership and help you create a more resilient business over the long term.
If you’re experiencing conflict in your business partnership, these 7 strategies will help you resolve your differences and set the partnership back up for success.
Be completely honest
A lot of conflict arises because we’re not being completely honest with ourselves and our business partner. If you find yourself arguing in the context of your business, start by getting real with yourself (and then get real with your partner). What’s this really about? What are you not saying? Is this a one-off issue or has tension been building over time? Why is this bothering you so much? You may want to journal your answers to these questions.
Don’t hit below the belt
As you look to navigate a conflict with your business partner, make sure the dialogue remains respectful. If one person raises their voice, uses degrading language, or calls you names, the conversation should be paused and resumed when it can happen from a place of respect. Discussing your boundaries around conflict early on in your business partnership will also help you resolve future tension with integrity.
Determine what’s needed
If you find yourself in the heat of the moment, it’s important to consider what’s required to settle the dispute and create space for solutions. Similar to conflict in romantic relationships, you and your partner may need space to cool off before a resolution can be reached. You may also need to have an active listening session with each other or involve a mutual third party to help moderate the conversation.
Get to the root of the issue
When you’re ready to address the conflict from a respectful and grounded place, it’s important to identify the true origin of the issue so you fix it for good instead of just applying a bandaid. What’s causing you to be in conflict right now? How far back does it go? What are the facts surrounding the conflict? How is the issue impacting the business?
It may be helpful to try and remove emotions surrounding the conflict and stick to discussing the facts. However, emotions may be unavoidable if one person hasn’t felt adequately heard, seen, or understood in the partnership. It could also be that one partner is under a lot of stress at home and that stress is leaking into the business. Be discerning as you evaluate the true driver of the conflict.
Get back on the same team
A conflict will pin you against each other but it’s important to remember that you’re playing on the same team. You may want to revisit your company values or refer back to your mission and vision statements to bring you back into alignment. It can also be helpful to introduce empathy and genuinely try to see where your partner is coming from. Understanding the motive behind their position and recognizing that you both want what’s best for the business can help soften the polarization.
Brainstorm solutions together
Now that you’ve determined the root cause of the conflict and you’ve re-aligned your partnership, it’s time to explore creative solutions to resolve the tension. We recommend generating a list of decisions, experiences, commitments, and adjustments that will remedy the conflict and ensure it doesn’t happen again. It may be as simple as implementing a new communication policy, setting a boundary, aligning on a core business decision, or compromising on an issue you can’t seem to agree on.
Reflect on the conflict
Once you’ve had some time and space from the conflict, it’s important to check-in with your partner and make any necessary repairs. Is an apology in order? Do you both need to acknowledge how brave it was to be in conflict and successfully navigate it? Are there things you’d like to do differently when the next conflict arises? With proper reflection, you’ll become more skilled and capable of addressing and resolving future issues.
It’s important to remember that engaging in respectful conflict and effectively mitigating it will only benefit your business. Through conflict, you can come up with powerful new directions, learn more about each other as business partners, and set the business up for even greater success. Our next blog post tips to maintaining a thriving business partnership will dive even deeper into this topic and help you build a solid foundation for lasting fulfillment and success.
