The key to good communication is an open environment. Personnel problems may not be easy to avoid when you have different perspectives from people that care deeply about what they do. You need to be a better listener. Ask questions and understand exactly what the associate is saying. Secondly, you need to get more clarification, understand the issues and what is being said.
Problem solving jointly with the associate is the last way to keep an issue from escalating.
The principal shouldn't assume he or she has all the answers. Ask the employee what you can do and take the associate's view into consideration. As an associate, the same tips apply. Being a better listener means understanding that the principal is coming from a different perspective. Sometimes what you want to build is not what the client wants or needs, or what the client is paying for, or beyond the client's budget.