 Emily is the chief of mission of a medium-sized office. On top of her duties, she and her team are running a very important project, and its deadline is approaching. The team gets along well and begins their day with a coffee meeting. We are making good progress. Remember, we have to finish the project on time. The deadline is approaching, so the workload is getting heavier, but I am sure that we will manage to get it all done. I used to be very passionate about this project, but now with the deadline approaching, working hours have gone beyond what I can manage. At the end of the day, Emily is surprised to receive a message from Anna in which she complains about an offensive email she had received from Sakon that day. I am always obliged to complete or finalize your tasks. Are you unable to carry out your duties? Stop making me do your work on top of my own. It's as if he's trying to tell me that I am incompetent. I'm forwarding this email to Emily so that we can talk about it. I can tell the pressure must be getting to them. They are very stressed and tired. I'll send them both an encouraging message, telling them I understand how tired they must be, but they are doing great work. The next morning, Anna and Sakon receive their supervisor's email. That's just great. Instead of talking to me about it, you go straight to the comb. Over the next few days, the atmosphere worsens. Lucky you, leaving at this time. Have a good evening. Ah, I am so frustrated and tired of having to do everyone's work. I am the only one that stays after hours. Anna could be doing her job better. She just doesn't care. Emily notices that her team is not doing well and that she needs to do something for the atmosphere to improve and to reach the deadline of the project. I thought my email would have been enough to settle this issue, but everything has gotten worse. They barely speak to each other, nor do they attend our morning coffee meetings anymore. This is affecting our work. I have to do something more. Emily decides to get advice from another chief of mission on how to manage conflict. Well, in my experience, I learned that as managers, we should take workplace conflict seriously and address the issue with each person separately first, so it does not escalate. You are right. I have to start over and address this issue differently. Emily starts over and begins by asking open-ended questions. She speaks with each employee individually first and listens actively. She then asks both employees separately first if they would be willing to meet for a discussion. Sure, we can try that, but I am not sure Anna will accept since she doesn't talk to me about it in the first place. Anna accepts. Yes, of course. I was thinking to discuss this with you before talking about it with Sakon. I was afraid to approach him on my own. As I heard them speak, I discovered that the issues came from lack of communication and lack of clarity in defining their roles and tasks. Anna did not understand what Sakon needed from her, while Sakon wasn't aware of the scope of Anna's responsibilities. I realized that it might have been my fault since I did not clearly define their roles. Each employee realizes that they have a part to play in this conflict, even if it wasn't intentional. I am sorry that you felt like you were being overworked. I just did not realize that you found the work to be incomplete when I sent it to you, Sakon. I guess I never explained clearly what I needed from you in order to properly carry out my own work. I am also sorry for sending you a disrespectful email. Once the underlying issues were uncovered, they began exploring options. We agreed on a few solutions. Sakon and Anna both decided to communicate their needs to one another. I insisted on having a follow-up meeting three weeks later. They both said it would not be necessary, but I kindly insisted. After a few days, the atmosphere in the office improved. The follow-up meeting allowed Emily to verify if the solutions put in place were working or not, and they were.