Minimizing work conflict makes missions fly

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mary Davis
  • Public Affairs
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  It takes many people to make a mission fly, but without good teamwork a mission may never get off the ground.
Twenty-five Team Vance members attended a workshop Tuesday to minimize conflict within the workplace and foster positive work relationships to help get Vance missions airborne.
People should look at themselves to see how their behavior contributes to the dynamics of a group, said Sandra King of Workforce Strategies and Concepts, Inc.
"Many people don't realize how their behavior affects their co-workers," said Ms. King, a retired Air Force master sergeant from Little Rock, Ark. "People's behavior impacts the whole team and ultimately impacts organizational effectiveness and mission accomplishment."
Ms. King used a personal profile system to help the participants gauge their own behavior and recognize behavior traits of others to avoid conflict at the workplace. The profile system placed people in four categories: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. From the categories, people could see what traits they possessed and ways to manage their own behavior and stem problems with co-workers.
"The test helped us understand what our own behavioral tendencies are and those of the people we work with," Ms. King said. "It also showed how we should understand, respect, appreciate and value the differences within our workplace."
n According to Ms. King, successful people:
n Recognize their own behavior and how it affects others,
n Understand their response to other people,
n Have a positive attitude about themselves, which triggers others to have confidence in them, and
n Know how to change their behavior to meet the needs of other people and circumstances.
One of the largest problems Ms. King observed was the lack of interpersonal skills.
"Everyone has what it takes to get the job done, and the Air Force mainly looks at the end result -- mission accomplishment," she explained. "Although the Air Force does a wonderful job of training us to achieve the end result, there are underlying influences keeping us from getting things done effectively."
As the NCO in charge of the medical records section, Tech. Sgt. Derek Cox with the 71st Medical Group wanted to foster a positive work relationship with his co-workers, so they could all provide quality customer service for their patrons.
"With the type of job I have, I interact with many different people -- enlisted, officers, civilians and retirees," said the 10-year career sergeant from Jackson, Miss. "If you recognize the type of behavior of a co-worker or customer, you will know what approach to take to communicate more successfully."
The workshop also taught people to be more tolerant and aware of diversity, Sergeant Cox said.
"In the Air Force, we have a mix of different people, personalities and behaviors," he explained. "This workshop has helped to teach us how to identify with people's behavior to better achieve team cohesiveness and provide better service for our customers."
Since many people spend most of their day at work, why not take the time to enhance communication at work, Ms. King said.
"We all need to value each other's differences and recognize each person's value in a group," she concluded. "Only then will you have a dynamic work environment and good team communication."