Did you know that there are nine common conflict “hot buttons?”

You can take an online test (thanks to the Center for Conflict Dynamics at Eckerd C... to find out which button(s) irk you the most.

Which will it be?

• Unreliable – people who can’t be counted on
• Overly analytical – people who are perfectionists and focus too much on minor issues
• Unappreciative – people who fail to give credit to others and seldom praise good performance
• Aloof – people who are hard to approach and don’t seek input from others
• Micro-managers – people who constantly monitor and check up on the work being done
• Self-centered – people who are always right
• Abrasive – people who are arrogant, sarcastic and generally rude
• Untrustworthy – people who exploit others, take undeserved credit and can’t be trusted
• Hostile – people who lost their tempers, become angry and yell at others

It turns out that mine is UNTRUSTWORTHY.  According to the analysis I received:

“Untrustworthy people are exploitative, manipulative, and dishonest. They use other people for their own purposes and may be quite willing to deceive and cheat. They may try to undercut colleagues, or deliberately sabotage others’ work by, for instance, keeping important information to themselves. They may attempt to take credit for others’ successes.”

Yup. They nailed it for me.

And then there were some thoughts and suggestions on “cooling strategies.” I like those because it gave me ideas to ponder on.

Here is a link to Eckerd College’s brochure for the Conflict Dynamics Profile – a tool for managers and employees to assess conflict behaviors in the workplace.  With so much workplace time being spent managing conflict, it may be worth checking out.

Jeanette