When bickering gets out of hand

My teams are starting to snip at each other. How do I stop it?

Drama, pettiness and arguing don't stop at adolescence, but work is the wrong place to let the cattiness creep in. Shawn McVey, MA, MSW, owner of McVey Management Solutions in Chicago and a Veterinary Economics board member, says most workplace disputes are a result of confusion about policy or procedure, so make sure your policies are clear and don't allow for ambiguity in the "how" of the job.

"If tensions are high and team members are blaming the other, then the manager needs to intervene and create a private time and place where people can cool down, make amends, and re-engage constructively," McVey says.

When things are muddied by emotions, it's helpful to say something like, "Let's address the emotions before we get to the substance of the issue. We have to work through the feelings before we can solve the problem."

And be sure to jump in at the first sign of employee bickering, McVey says, so these conflicts don't rule your hospital environment.