Construction Middle East: Arabian Civil Engineers by GineersNow GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 014, Sau | Page 55

How Engineers Should Handle
Conflicts With Their Bosses
Source: Financial Post
The point here is at least you have shared your
side rather than not telling it at all.
Conflicts are normal in any
engineering workplace. You
have disagreements with your
colleagues from time to time,
and argue about technical stuff
with subordinates. But what if
the other end is your boss?
Perhaps at the last time you
had a difference in opinion with
someone in a higher position
than you are, all you did was
just go with the flow. That’s
actually understandable
because something might
happen to you considering the
power of the position, say your
boss.
Author Joseph Grenny gets this
predicament. “Our bodies
specialize in survival, so we
have a natural bias to avoid
situations that might harm us,”
he said. And so does author
Holly Weeks, who shared that
the heart of the anxiety is that
there will be negative
implications.
While both admit that it’s easier
to agree, it’s not always the
right thing to do.
There’s actually something you
can do about it, engineer. When
confronted with a higher-up at
work and you feel that your
voice will have great impact
once heard, do not just shut up.
There are ways to speak up and
not keep it all to yourself.
Be realistic about
the risks
First and foremost, when you’ve
finally made the jump and
spoken up, you will get reac-
tions from everyone else for
being brave. Co-engineers and
your boss will be surprised
because it is not the usual you.
But don’t worry about it:
measure the gains of you
speaking up rather than think-
ing about what will happen if
you didn’t risk it.
Get the proper timing
Do you have to wait before
speaking up? Think about this
too and not just blurt out your
opinions anytime. It pays to be
respectful in voicing out your
side by saying it at the right
time, preferably on a personal
level so your boss will be less
threatened. During meetings,
you also have to feel the time
where your opinion is the most
that will be supported by
others.
Construction Leaders • April 2017
53