It seems to me that although Sam's confidence needs working on, the best route to rectify his self-esteem is by focusing on the problem and having Sam address it in a practical incremental way.
Discussion with team
My plan of action will be open-ended listening where I will encourage them to share their reactions about Sam. I will involve Sam in these meetings so Sam can discuss his concerns with his colleagues resulting in each gaining a perspective and understanding of the other's situation and feelings. I will encourage all participants to be as concrete and as open as possible so that all concerns get brought to the table. I may also innovate the manager in some of the sessions.
What I will point out is that as Callister & Wall (1997) observe, conflict is not totally negative. Some even welcome it as a change of direction and spurring of energy to learn new things, and the team can learn likewise. Youth can bring certain skills to the table that those who are older cannot and, likewise, Sam can learn something from his older colleagues that he is not already aware of. It is in essence the employee's perceptions of the new manager and the way that they interpret his actions that fosters and escalates the conflict. (Wall & Nolan, 1987) . this is particularly so when the behavior seems to threaten justice or autonomy of another individual and the employees may feel that their way of doing things and their dignity and respect is threatened by their having to conform to the demands of someone far younger than they. Perceptions, therefore, need to be transformed and the shift changed.
By focusing on Sam's unique contribution, a s well as by focusing on the particular contributions of the other employees, my aim is to point out that skills and capabilities should be focused on ability rather than age.
This, likely will be the drift of my sessions; to replace attention on age with attention on capability.
De-escalation techniques that may be used are the following: Pointing out how conflict can be positive and adopting a Pollyanna attitude to the conflict. In other words, one can seek out ways that...
I will also add 'team coaching' to the list in order to facilitate communication amongst the team
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