Conflict is inevitable. No matter where you work, sooner or later you will find yourself at odds with someone. We’ve all heard of disputes that erupt into expensive and divisive lawsuits. A simple personality conflict between two members of a team can cripple productivity and ultimately leave the entire team feeling angry and betrayed. The following strategy describes a successful approach to resolving conflict.
We are taught at an early age to delegate to someone else, to take our problems to the teacher, to mom and dad, to the police. At the same time, trying to address potential disputes before they arise with detailed policies of appropriate behavior is also ultimately unsatisfactory. The suggestion is that if we have enough rules, somehow things will be fair and everyone will be treated fairly. Uniformity does not necessarily produce fairness, and the rules cannot address all real situations. For managers to assume that they have dealt with a workplace problem because they have passed a rule or policy is a naive assumption at best.
So the question is not “How can we avoid conflict?” but “How can we handle it?” If the conflict cannot be eliminated, we can at least deal with it constructively.
Conflicts between work employees can arise from any number of sources; lack of communication, unfulfilled expectations, feelings that one’s contributions have not been recognized. Conflicts and disputes rarely have a simple cause, but arise when people choose to turn their differences into disagreements.
If the conflict is the result of individual choices, managers who wish to successfully manage and resolve conflict must create an environment in which employees can make the right decisions. the optimal strategy depends on constructing the correct group norms in the first place. If employees are open to differences effectively to make good decisions, then employees will be able to express differences appropriately and resolve differences effectively.
The following elements need to be addressed and managed to successfully manage the conflict.
Feel comfortable dealing with conflict
Being open to disagreement is sometimes difficult. Most people are afraid of conflict. That’s the reason for the rules in the first place. But rules designed to eliminate conflict can allow situations to escalate and then flare up if employees don’t have a chance to voice their concerns. Much of the way he does this is not by trying to quell the conflict and get everyone to calm down, but by allowing everyone to voice their concerns. You can usually move people to a place where they say, “Okay, now what are we going to do about it?”
Acting quickly to air problems is also psychologically better for all employees. People don’t like to get involved in conflicts or have disputes, so the sooner it ends, the better for everyone and the faster you can move on.
Find the source of the conflict
The tendency to resort to some higher authority to resolve disputes often leads to unsatisfactory conclusions. Therefore, the ability of employees to solve problems close to the source, at a team level, will also contribute to a healthy conflict resolution process. For example, if a factory manager walks around a few times a day to check if people are ignoring safety glasses, there will be people trying to hide what they are doing. On the other hand, if a co-worker who is working under you is the security contact person, there is no hiding what he is doing. And when that person says, “Look, don’t be silly,” he’s that much closer to the source. It’s a completely different type of interaction.
Also, bringing in an outside authority can too quickly turn the process into a fact-finding investigation that puts everyone involved on the defensive. The person who made the accusation says, “Why are you looking at me?” And the person accused of inappropriate behavior says, “You’re trying to get me fired.” For these reasons, attempting to resolve disputes at the team level is more likely to lead to a constructive outcome.
Addressing the interests of the conflicting parties is also more likely to lead to a satisfactory resolution. So often people put things in positional terms, “I want him fired.” With active listening, dispute managers and mediators can help steer disagreement away from lawsuits and toward a discussion of each party’s legitimate interests.
Learned lessons
When employees can learn from disagreement and apply the lessons learned to new situations, they will be able to resolve those new situations more efficiently. This can be the most difficult element to work with, especially at the organizational level. Most organizations have what can be considered a severe learning disability. But at the team level, the opportunity to learn may be less difficult. For example, you may have teams that have had a problem with unfair job promotion, so some people had a better chance of qualifying for higher pay increases. In those cases, where the conflict has surfaced and then been resolved and addressed by the team, there’s a much better chance that the next time someone starts playing favoritism in that way, the team will be able to say, “No, we dealt with this last year.
Conflict
Practice a little self-recognition. Rarely does a conflict arise without input from both parties. Very often, people tend to project it and say, “They made me do this.” Employees should try to recognize when they are angry about a situation and what their role really is in creating the situation.
Be careful what you put in writing. Despite the advice of many attorneys, memos, letters, and emails can exacerbate and escalate conflict.
Conflict don’t do
Involve more people in the process than necessary. Gossip about a conflict can derail attempts to resolve it amicably.
Bring it up while you’re angry. The resulting discussion will probably not be very constructive and may have negative effects. Find an appropriate time to engage with the other person.
Summary
While conflict is inevitable, it doesn’t have to be destructive. Management experts point out that you can’t assume everyone is happy just because complaints aren’t being aired. Conflicts can be seen below the surface, but resolving them openly can create new opportunities for your employees.
The wonderful thing about dispute and conflict resolution is that, when handled effectively, it not only helps address many conflicts that can bring you down, but it also releases all kinds of energy. Conflicts that are dealt with constructively not only prevent something that would otherwise have been acrimonious and difficult, but also often lead to insights and opportunities that might otherwise go unseen.