Managing Discipline and Dealing with Conflict

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Managing Discipline

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, there are problems with individual performance. As a manager, you have to deal with these promptly. If you don’t discipline, you risk negative impacts on the rest of the team as well as your customers, as poor performance typically impacts customer service, and it hurts the team and everything that the team has accomplished. It’s very demotivating to work beside someone who consistently fails to meet expectations, so if you tolerate it, the rest of the team will likely suffer. In our article on team management skills, we explore this issue in further detail and give you some examples.

Team performance will also suffer when differences between individual team members turn into outright conflict, and it’s your job as team manager to facilitate a resolution. Read our article on Resolving Team Conflict for a three-step process for doing this. However, conflict can be positive when it highlights underlying structural problems – make sure that you recognize conflict and deal with its causes, rather than just suppressing its symptoms or avoiding it.

 

 

With over 27 years in Healthcare Environmental Services (ES), I lead with a belief that attitude drives outcomes. As a Regional Director at MultiCare Health System, I oversee multi-site ES operations with a focus on people-first leadership, infection control, and operational excellence. I champion a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) not as a slogan, but as a leadership principle. I believe positivity is contagious, and as a leader, I set the tone. Through consistent, uplifting communication, I create environments where ES teams feel empowered to be helpful, proactive, and proud of their impact. For me, development is a choice, and I invest in training, huddles, and coaching that energize teams, helping them thrive in their current roles and grow toward what’s next. My approach to high standards isn't theoretical, it's practical. Just like we notice when a hotel room is clean and fresh, patients and families immediately sense a space that’s been cared for. Through standardized protocols, team accountability, and a shared mission, I help create clean, safe, and healing environments that directly enhance patient experience and staff well-being. It's a privilege to lead teams that play such a vital role in the patient journey, and to help elevate the perception and performance of ES professionals across our system.

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