Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

 

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When a colleague’s agenda is seemingly opposed to your own, it can be tempting to demonize him.

Distorting other people is a common response to conflict, but not a particularly productive one.

In fact, doing so undermines your ability to exert influence. Instead of deciding that everything about a colleague you don’t get along with is hateful, get to know him better. Sit down and talk about what he cares and is concerned about.

You may find that the source of your conflict is actually an area of mutual interest and rather than being enemies, you are natural allies.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Managing Yourself: Stop Holding Yourself Back” by Anne Morriss, Robin J. Ely, and Frances X. Frei.

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