Workplace Tensions Can Spark Trust and Growth

Feeling a little unrest or opposition work? It can happen, and when it does, it can create a whirlwind of negative emotions. However, on the flip side of tension is a sense of ease and cohesion that paves the way to trust and growth. This week’s Monday Kickstarter challenges gave us the opportunity to find positive progress using CWH’s three-step flipping technique – Name It, Flip It, Frame It.

Read on to learn how we applied this to two very different scenarios.

Positive Frame #1

Name It: The Director doesn’t respect or trust us even though they say those are their values.

Flip It: The Director does respect and trust us.

Frame It: We are energized and thriving as a team where we can be our authentic selves.

Reframing a conversation is about creating a vivid picture of a desired outcome that will inspire everyone involved. In this example, we tuned in first to make sure the person experiencing the challenge felt comfortable having the conversation with the Director. If not, it’s likely the frame would be different.

Other Positive Frames (read the Cool Tip below for more on creating Positive Frames):

• The group trusts each other as well as the director.
• All team members are given a voice or an opportunity for feedback.
• We see growth in relationships, production, and successful outcomes.
• The director and staff communicate in ways that convey openness and desire for collaboration.
• We feel energized, speak honestly, and can be our authentic selves; we can be vulnerable and don’t worry about failure.
• Growing together in meaningful ways.

Generative Questions

With the selected frame in mind, it’s time to imagine that conversation taking place. What questions can we ask ourselves and the other person in the conversation that will create the momentum to move forward in a positive direction? That’s when we turn to asking Generative Questions like these:

Questions for Self

• What circumstances need to be in place so that I can trust the Director?
• What am I assuming about the Director? What am I not seeing?
• Was there a time when I felt respected by this manager? If yes, at what point did this change?
• How can I cultivate a sense of confidence among my team and the Director that would allow them to speak honestly?

Questions for Other

• Imagine it’s five years from now, and an article is being written about us. What would we want the headline to be?
• When you think about a time you were part of an energized team, what three things helped that happen?
• How can we talk about what happened in a way that allows everyone to feel safe and still meets legal requirements?
• What behaviors limit our ability to be energetic and thrive?
• What does thriving at work mean to us? How does it support our team’s effectiveness?

Positive Frame #2

Name It: An Assistant did a job incorrectly and refused to correct it.

Flip It: The Assistant corrected a job they did incorrectly.

Frame It: The Assistant agrees to make the correction with the understanding for the need to rework the solution and takes responsibility for their actions/inactions.

Other Positive Frames:

• We seek understanding and are open to ways to move on.
• Accountability and taking responsibility for ones actions/in-actions.
• A trusting relationship where we learn from each other.
• A culture where people own and correct and learn from their mistakes.

Generative Questions

What Generative Questions could stimulate the move from the positive opposite to the selected frame where the Assistant agrees to make the correction with the understanding for the need to rework the solution and takes responsibility for their actions/inactions.

Questions for Self

• What am I not seeing?
• Have my expectations been clearly set out?
• What could it look like to build a culture of owning and correcting mistakes?
• What protocols are in place for others to follow to check their work before presenting it?

Questions for the Assistant

• What’s your understanding of what success would look like in this situation?
• What do you love doing here?
• How did you feel about the task when it was assigned? What were your time commitments?
• What are ways I which we can provide real value for others who depend upon us?
• When you have successfully performed a task before, what were you doing?

Cool Tip!

Creating a positive frame is often a creative process. Like creating any other work of art, imagination and iteration fuel the process. Sometimes thinking through other possible frames helps you arrive at a mix of reflective of nuances that make your frame unique and inspiring.

Monday Kickstarters

This topic came from the second session of our Fall 2024 Monday Kickstarters series. If you'd like to learn how to have conversations that create meaningful and productive engagement, join us for Monday Kickstarters and find a resource, book, game, or course that works for you. 

Shared by: Kelly Stewart, a certified Conversations Worth Having trainer and co-founder of the CWH Institute.

Photo by Christina Morillo