PM Insights Foster City - 

Managing Conflict Dynamics: What is under the surface?

Conflict is associated with significant cost to organizations. In the study of employees from nine countries, the average number of hours spent per week on workplace conflict varied from 0.9 to 3.3 hours. In the United States, the average was 2.8 hours.  The calculated expense based on average hourly earnings in 2008 was $359 billion in lost time. Frequent causes of conflict include lack of clarity with expectations or guidelines, poor communication, lack of clear jurisdiction, personality differences, conflicts of interest, and changes within the organization. Add to it the civil discomfort due to lack of diversity, equity and inclusion in our organizations, community, and relationships. These underlying triggers can also be a catalyst for disharmony and conflict on an individual and organizational level eroding the psychological safety. While conflict cannot be avoided, team members need to manage the insecurity and unpredictability created in these situations when working together in teams while apart in their own microcosm. 

Managing conflict is difficult because there are feelings involved. Expressing emotions is risky, however. Thus, many people try to manage conflict in ways that ignore their emotional content. Unexpressed feelings can leak back into conversation and can preoccupy people so that they are unable to be good listeners. The solution is for the parties to identify and understand their feelings, negotiate them, and share them clearly. I personally had a breakthrough when I studied and implemented mindfulness-based practices as a way of life and introduced emotional intelligence toolkit to influence the way people overcome conflict, reach agreement, and create value. These practices have a profound impact on both professional and personal life, as well as our mental and physical well-being.

• Manage conflict by communicating with insight
• Learn tips and techniques for staying calm and working with conflict together with practices to develop mental clarity
• Develop actionable skills for growing trust and psychological safety to influence change or support others around you
• Participate in a highly interactive experience allowing attendees an opportunity to practice resolving conflict in an upcoming difficult conversation or a deep dive into a past one

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About the Instructor:

Priya Kasturi, M.Sc., M.S., PMP

Priya is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with a 24-year career in three continents with outstanding record of global accomplishments in projects spanning research through post-marketing, resource planning and management, information management, organizational process development and change management.  In 2001, she founded Inform LLC, a consulting firm to deliver on strategies in the life sciences industry.

Priya is a mindfulness instructor and facilitator and is a certified teacher for Search Inside Yourself, a mindfulness-based emotional intelligence program for leaders developed at Google. Her programs are highly interactive and has facilitated customized programs in corporations, non-profits, local libraries, and community centers. 

She serves on the board of directors of the Veterans Yoga Project, a non-profit, serving those who serve, and previously was on the board of Narika, serving women in the South Asian community.

Meeting Leader:  Eugene Chen

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PDU Info:     2.0 Leadership

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