Diehl Graduate Program: Conflicts can drive us up the wall

How can we deal with conflict in the workplace? How can we lessen its impact? And what helps us to get back down the wall? These were the questions faced by participants of the Diehl Graduate Program during a 3-day workshop, held 14-16 October, 2019.

Strategies for conflict management include fighting, integrating, negotiating, avoiding and giving in. Each method was carefully analysed and put to the test by the 24 graduates participating in a special workshop at the Diehl Group headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany. Those taking part came from a range of technical and commercial backgrounds, and included three representatives from Diehl Metering: Maximilian Oberndörfer, Kevin Wittrich and Florian Einzinger.

Rethinking conflict

The workshop focused on exchanging experiences and expertise, as well as jointly developing tools and methods for conflict management. Inspired by case studies and role plays, participants tested methods to handle conflict, and were made to reflect on their own behaviour in conflict situations. The key questions was: how do we act in conflict situations, and how can we shift discussions from an emotional level to a more factual and objective level?

Another highlight of the workshop was a fireside chat with Wolfgang Weggen, Chief Financial Officer of the Diehl Group. Participants seized the opportunity to ask Mr. Weggen questions on everything from his personal career to current issues and challenges of the Diehl Group.

From conflict to networking

One of the core ideas of the Diehl Graduate Program is to bring together different Diehl divisions. To improve networking between participants, a dinner was organised with Nathalie Haschberger, Head of the Commercial Graduate Program at the end of the Conflict Management seminar.