How can emotional intelligence help Marketing Operations professionals resolve conflict?

Know your team well – you’ll get an idea of their personalities, traits and values which can give you a heads up regarding potential conflicts. Keep in mind that most people will default to labelling emotions generically when in a disagreement. Make sure you address conflict calmly and in private, as this is the best way to help the parties involved practice active listening. Giving the parties involved a chance to calm down, you’re making it easier for them to talk to each other.

Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a crucial role in resolving conflicts, especially in the field of Marketing Operations, where collaboration and effective communication are essential. Through the following ways: Self-awareness: Marketing Operations professionals with high EI are aware of their own emotions, triggers, and biases. This -awareness enables them to recognize how their emotions might influence conflict situations and allows them to regulate their responses accordingly. Empathy: EI enables individuals to understand and empathize with the perspectives and emotions of others involved in the conflict. Effective Communication: EI enhances communication skills, enabling professionals to express themselves clearly and listen actively..

One thing that I have found helpful is to tap into the value of non verbal cue's as you gain a deeper understanding of how one is feeling during conflict and what are the drivers. Seeking to understand is key and been curious to ask questions to understand better, whilst listening intently to all parties. Honest unbiased feedback is critical along with ensuring the timing and the environment to share the feedback is right. Check in again at intervals to see how things are progressing.

Having strong emotional intelligence is a valuable asset. When we can effectively understand and manage our emotions, such as showing empathy to understand the perspectives of those we work with and communicate effectively, it leads to a positive and collaborative work environment. This ultimately helps in resolving conflicts successfully and improving team dynamics.

When it's your responsibility to resolve issues in systems and processes you often come across conflicts between people or 'departments'. It's good to remember that each party likely has little understanding of the process and the complexities of the other party. It has helped me tremendously to share personal experiences from working in Sales with Marketing stakeholders and vice versa. If this is not possible I might point out all the tasks and the room for error each party has and how something that is very impactful for a Salesrep might seem like an insignificant and irrelevant step in the process for a Marketer. This sets you up for a conversation about shared goals which is a great reminder for each of us to get 'off our own island'.

Lean Six Sigma training includes a component about process design where you work with stakeholders to gather requirements. Lean Practitioners are then taught to segment feedback into stated v. unstated needs - a concept that is directly applicable here. Emotional Intelligence and active listening is not just about being able to parrot back a list of what you heard. It's an ability to dig deeper and ask yourself, what conclusions can I draw about why the stakeholder would request that specific requirement? What does it tell about what they value or aim to achieve with this process? As you collect more observations, you can build systems that serve those needs they might not even be able to articulate themselves.

Empathy goes further than most people think. The ability to lend a shoulder and offer active listening can have marvelous results. Being open-minded and allowing the second party to express themselves freely will allow them to vent their concerns, opening a clean line of communication for all parties involved.

To effectively express yourself, it is crucial to follow three steps. Firstly, state the facts and avoid making assumptions. Secondly, ask questions to clarify any misunderstandings and gain insight into the other person's perspective. Thirdly, actively listen to their responses without passing judgment. It is also important to share your perspective and explain how the situation affects you personally. Clearly communicate the desired outcome, but be open to other ideas and solutions. Through this approach, engage in a productive discussion that aims to resolve the conflict while meeting the needs of everyone involved.

Manage stress and emotions Conflict can be stressful and emotionally draining, especially if it involves high stakes, personal values, or relationships. Managing stress and emotions is crucial for resolving conflict, as it allows you to cope with the pressure, to maintain your composure, and to avoid overreacting or shutting down. Managing stress and emotions means using techniques such as breathing, meditation, or exercise, to calm your nervous system, to release tension, and to restore your energy. It also means using positive emotions, such as humor, gratitude, or optimism, to balance the negative emotions, such as anger, frustration, or fear.

All of these are great ways of diffuse situations leveraging emotional intelligence. However, I would look at it more from how you can eliminate some of the conflict. Don't get me wrong conflict is a great part of business and needed to find new ways to do things. However, a lot of the unnecessary conflict that impacts the culture and teamwork can be avoided by another critical part of emotional intelligence is transparency of what you are doing and why and clear communications of who handles what. The majority of conflicts come in when employees don't understand the why or who is responsible for what.