Conflict management
Wherever there are people, there always will be conflict. Managers have to deal with conflict in the workplace every day. Conflict management is the ability to be able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently.
Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently. Since conflicts in a business are a natural part of the workplace, it is important that there are people who understand conflicts and know how to resolve them. This is important in today's market more than ever. Everyone is striving to show how valuable they are to the company they work for and at times, this can lead to disputes with other members of the team. Here you will be able to learn more ways of handling conflict situations and also ways to prevent such.
Conflict management
Critical situations and conflicts
Each team encounters difficult situations that can often cause conflict. Depending on their origin, they can be grouped as follows:
¬ Caused for external reasons;
¬ Challenged by team members;
¬ Challenged by the manager.
The first group of critical situations caused by external causes (fire, natural disasters, technical failures, etc.) can more often not be predicted. In themselves, they break the work of the team, but on the other hand "are a good thing," because:
¬ Associate members of the team;
¬ Require co-operation of the team so that the task will not fail;
¬Demonstrate positive qualities of some team members that others have not imagined.
In these cases, the team leader must be able to respond adequately.
"Conflicts are inevitable and they are the best fuel for the fire of creativity. Without them the teams are stiff and good ideas wither and die. "(Jim Kling)
From critical situations to team conflict
In all organizations there are people and groups that compete for power, influence and resources. They can provoke controversy and pressure (critical situations) within the team. But when the contradictions are exacerbated, critical situations go into conflict. There is a struggle between values and priorities, rivalry and controversy, clashes and attempts at alliances. And this should not be taken as an exception. Conflict is such a relationship between two people or groups of people, characterized by contradictions and oppositions, the basis of which are different interests. In general, there is a mismatch in expectations and reality - between what should happen and what actually happens.
Depending on the effect they cause, conflicts within the team may be - functional (constructive) and disproportionate (destructive).
Functional conflicts are those in which different views and ideas are presented and elucidated, arguments are put forward to defend a certain thesis, and agreement is reached on what and how to do. For most executives, they are useful and move the team forward.
Dysfunctional conflicts arise from poor communication between team members. They shift the focus of the problem - from reaching the team's goal towards the behavior and qualities of one of the team. Typically, this leads to serious interpersonal conflicts and a drop in the team's workload.
Strategies to address a problem / conflict
- Embrace conflict.
- When conflict arises, don’t avoid it or pretend nothing has happened. As time goes on, tension will build -- and the conflict only will get worse. Deal with these uncomfortable issues as soon as possible, before problems and bad feelings become embedded in everyday work.
- If you notice a conflict between employees, encourage them to find a way to work it out. If conflict develops between two teams, it's a good time to improve interdepartmental communication. If you have a conflict with one of your employee, address it head on and in private.
- Talk together.
- Set up a time and place so you can talk for an extended span without outside interruptions.
- When you do meet, each person should have adequate time to say what he or she believes the other party needs to hear. Don't let any individual monopolize the conversation or control the topic. Each person should talk about the disagreements and how he or she feels about the situation.
- Remember, this is not the time to attack or assign blame. Focus on the problem, not your opinion of the other person’s character.
- Listen carefully.
- It's essential to give your complete attention to the person who is talking. Do not interrupt the other person.
- Make sure you're getting the message he or she intends to send. Rephrase and repeat back what you've heard to confirm understanding. You might say something along the lines of, “Let me make sure I understand. You’re upset about _____ because _____.”
- Ask clarifying questions if needed. You can request that the other person repeat a central idea or reword his or her frustrations in a way that makes sense to you.
- Listening always should be about gaining understanding. Don’t let yourself become reactionary to the other person's words.
- Find agreement.
- Your conversation primarily will focus on the disagreements, but resolution is possible only when you find points of agreement. You should emerge from the experience with some positives instead of all negatives.
- Shed light on commonalities. Share examples or instances in which you agree with the other person or can see another point of view. For example, if you disagree on new sales tactics, you might share what you liked about the other person’s idea or the motivation to work harder for the team.
- Looking for agreement demonstrates your willingness to seek out common ground and build a relationship around those trust elements.
- Provide guidance.
- If you're in a leadership position, there are times you may need to mediate work conflict. Don’t take sides, ever. Realize you are there simply to help your employees work out their problems.
- You might need to guide the conversation. And if hurt feelings run high, it's likely you'll need to redirect the topic so your employees return to the real problem. If you're in a position to give advice on next steps, highlight the positive aspects of the process and suggest related topics or actions they can work through after the meeting.
- Be quick to forgive.
- Every conflict needs a clear resolution that acknowledges hurt feelings and finds a solution that begins to mend them.
- Apologize. Tell the other person you're truly sorry for any ill words or actions -- and mean it. You'll also need to forgive the other person. Agreeing solely for the sake of appearances can lead to grudges that deepen over time, undoing any progress you've made together.
Wherever there are people, there always will be conflict. Managers have to deal with conflict in the workplace every day. Conflict management is the ability to be able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently.
Definition of Conflict Management
Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly, and efficiently. Since conflicts in a business are a natural part of the workplace, it is important that there are people who understand conflicts and know how to resolve them. This is important in today's market more than ever. Everyone is striving to show how valuable they are to the company they work for and at times, this can lead to disputes with other members of the team.
Conflict Management Styles
Conflicts happen. How an employee responds and resolves conflict will limit or enable that employee's success. Here are five conflict styles that a manager will follow according to Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann:
- An accommodating manager is one who cooperates to a high degree. This may be at the manager's own expense and actually work against that manager's own goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. This approach is effective when the other person is the expert or has a better solution.
- Avoiding an issue is one way a manager might attempt to resolve conflict. This type of conflict style does not help the other staff members reach their goals and does not help the manager who is avoiding the issue and cannot assertively pursue his or her own goals. However, this works well when the issue is trivial or when the manager has no chance of winning.
- Collaborating managers become partners or pair up with each other to achieve both of their goals in this style. This is how managers break free of the win-lose paradigm and seek the win-win. This can be effective for complex scenarios where managers need to find a novel solution.
- Competing: This is the win-lose approach. A manager is acting in a very assertive way to achieve his or her own goals without seeking to cooperate with other employees, and it may be at the expense of those other employees. This approach may be appropriate for emergencies when time is of the essence.
- Compromising: This is the lose-lose scenario where neither person nor manager really achieves what they want. This requires a moderate level of assertiveness and cooperation. It may be appropriate for scenarios where you need a temporary solution or where both sides have equally important goals.
Useful resources and video links:
https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/how-to-manage-conflict-six-essentials/
Literature:
- Morgan Jr, Ben B., and Donald L. Lassiter. "Team composition and staffing." (1992).
- Somech, Anit, and Anat Drach-Zahavy. "Translating team creativity to innovation implementation: The role of team composition and climate for innovation." Journal of management 39.3 (2013): 684-708.
- Chen, Ming‐Huei. "Understanding the benefits and detriments of conflict on team creativity process." Creativity and innovation management 15.1 (2006): 105-116.
Open ended questions:
- Depending on their origin, how can the difficult situations be grouped?
- When a critical situation turns into a conflict?
- Depending on the effect they have, conflicts can be ________ (________) and ________ (__________).
- How many and which are the strategies to address a problem/conflict?
What is the definition of Conflict Management?