I’ve had some pretty significant conflict with a colleague of mine for awhile now, but I can honestly say that the tactics we learned around conflict resolution have helped tremendously. In addition to that, the personality dichotomies have gotten me even further in dealing with the scenarios we face. During the reflecting time I set aside for myself I realized that I am so quick to point out negative things that this person is doing – but barely point out the positive things they do. I’ve realized that they are the type of person who really thrives on recognition and positive feedback, so me never empathizing with them or recognizing them for things that they have done well hasn’t helped the situation. We are all busy in our daily lives, but never too busy to tell someone when they’ve done something well and we’ve appreciated it. That’s a great (and easy) way to positively build a relationship. I can honestly say that our conflicts have seemed far less significant in working through all of these exercises, and I’m noticing new ways that these tools are coming through for me and helping me become a better communicator.