What Leaders Need to Know About Workplace Conflict and Investigations

When you’re doing the work of managing people – as leaders are – conflict is inevitable. Yet, it continues to be the aspect of the role that many leaders struggle with.

It’s normal to want to bury your head in the sand and hope the niggles will go away, or the outright arguments will resolve themselves – but this is one of the worst things you can do as a leader. 

We often joke that emails are costing us productive work time, but disputes, festering grievances and personality clashes suck time, energy and oxygen out of our workplaces too. 

In fact, according to the Workplace Peace Institute’s ‘State of Workplace Conflict’ 2024 report, 88% of respondents have witnessed poor morale among employees affected by conflict. Conflict, or poor interpersonal relationships, exert a heavy toll on organisations, leaders and teams in terms of both culture and productivity. 

With conflict resolution being such a hot topic for leaders, I caught up with Melisa Kappely, Partner at Intepeople and a key member of their Investigations and Conflict Resolution team. As a highly-qualified investigator, Melisa and her team help organisations and leaders to navigate some of their most challenging moments, and sensitive workplace issues with integrity and skill. 

Check out my full conversation with Melisa below to find out the four common mistakes leaders make when it comes to interpersonal conflict, as well as:

1. What types of conflict they most commonly see in organisations?
2. What is actually involved in a workplace investigation?
3. When is the right time to call in an independent investigator?
4. How ethics come into the investigation process?
5. The most challenging and rewarding parts of conducting an investigation?