Business Escalators

5 Jun 2024 · 1 min

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0:40

In this brief segment from the YouTube video "Business Escalators," speakers A and B discuss a common conflict‑management style they call the "conflict escalator." They describe the escalator as an instinctive tendency to dive straight into a disagreement, being direct and confronting the issue immediately. The conversation outlines the main advantage of this approach—prompt, direct engagement that addresses the problem on the spot—while also highlighting its key drawback: a focus on being right can prevent genuine listening, often leading to outcomes that fall short of the desired result. The segment serves to introduce the concept, its benefits, and its pitfalls for business professionals handling interpersonal conflicts.

In business, we all handle problems differently. Here are the pros and cons of being an escalator.
Most of us have one of two ways we deal with conflict. One is a natural conflict escalator. Your instinct is to dive right in, be direct, duke it out. If you are a conflict escalator, the pro is, yes, you get in, you're direct, you deal with the problem right then. But a con is you may be so focused on proving you're right that you're not actually listening to the other person, and you may not get the outcome that you want.