"In my current role a few years back, I took it upon myself to help resolve a serious conflict between two of my colleagues who just couldn't work effectively together. I knew that their issues stemmed from their personal lives overflowing into the workplace, and one day it came to a head over a loud shouting match that was about to get physical. Right away, I jumped in to separate them while another colleague helped me to distance them from one another. Knowing that emotions were running high, I took the time to talk to each of them individually and let them know that all three of us would meet together the next day. Going into a meeting with both of them, I knew it was important to be objective towards both parties and hear them out on their differences. I made it clear during the meeting that arguments over differences in their personal lives wouldn't be tolerated in the workplace, and it ended up being a very good situation for both of them to talk out their issues in a civil way. In the end, we decided that while both could still remain in the department in their jobs, we would switch around some duties on the team to keep their work separate for the most part. In the end, I used my interpersonal skills to create a positive atmosphere for them to talk out their differences, and I used problem solving skills to work out a resolution that all could agree with."
